


Beating Hearts and UFOs

by seekingslender



Category: Gravity Falls, The X-Files
Genre: Gravity Falls - Freeform, M/M, fiddauthor - Freeform, gfalls, this starts out fun and now it's just a pit of suffering, xfiles au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-04-27 19:44:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5061586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekingslender/pseuds/seekingslender
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fiddauthor X Files AU. Special Agent Fiddleford McGucket is assigned to keep track of Agent Stanford Pines' progress on the X Files. Together, they investigate strange supernatural occurrences, along with alien encounters. Can Pines make McGucket a believer?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pines the Believer and McGucket the Skeptic

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so I think this is going to be a really fun fic to write! I'm not exactly sure how long it's going to be, so just wait and see! I'm putting the rating as M for later smut and swearing and what not. I'm like super into the X Files right now, and I thought this AU fits these two perfectly! The title was an idea from a friend, mostly as a joke, but I think I might keep it. ^^ Hope you guys like the first chapter

The day started out filled with adrenaline and excitement. Today was the day Fiddleford was getting a partner reassignment. He was nearly running through the halls of the FBI headquarters towards the Assistant Director's office. His previous partner, whom he had been stuck with, was always rude and possibly slightly intoxicated ninety percent of the time. As he approached the office door, he stopped for a moment to fix his hair, straighten his tie, and get his breathing back to normal. As calmly as he could, he entered the office and approached the Assistant Director's desk.   
"*Ahem* You wanted to see me for partner reassignment, sir?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from cracking.   
The Assistant Director looked up at Fiddleford from some paperwork, looking as stern and intimidating as ever. "Ah, yes, Agent McGucket. You're now assigned with Special Agent Pines."   
"Uh, Pines? The X Files guy?" Fiddleford's heart skipped a beat.   
"Yes, I'm afraid so. He needs a partner, and you're the first open one. He's been investigating the X Files. You're going to make reports directly to me after each assignment on Pines' progress and the success of each assignment. This is to see if his work on the X Files should be continued. And we have an assignment for the two of you soon, so get down to the X-Files wing. His office is way in the back."   
"Uh, but sir! I-isn't there anyone else?"   
"I'm sorry, McGucket, but Pines is the only free agent I have right now."   
"But-"   
"McGucket, I have a very busy schedule, so get down to Pines' office already!"   
Fiddleford sighed, looking down towards the ground. "Yes, sir."   
He walked out of the office dejected. He couldn't stand being scolded and yelled at. "Guess I'll head over to Pines since I don't have a choice," he thought. He kept his eyes towards the ground as he began walking down the lone hallway near the back of the building. The deeper he ventured, the less people he began to see. Even the flourescent lights above seemed to dim. He shifted his gaze around nervously, feeling like he was walking somewhere he wouldn't return from. After what seemed like endless winding hallways, Fiddleford finally reached Pines' office. Just as the assistant director said, it was right at the very end with a single name on it: Stanford F. Pines. Fiddleford had only heard the rumors about him, which weren't good ones. From what he had heard, Pines was obsessed with the existence of aliens and other weird things. People called him "Weirdo Pines." He had also heard of Pines' extra appendage on both of his hands. Fiddleford thought that might be interesting to see. After just standing by the door and shaking for a good few minutes, he gave it three light taps.   
"Come in," a voice resonated from the office within a few seconds.   
Fiddleford tried to keep his hand from shaking as he opened the door. The first thing he noticed when he first walked in was a huge poster on the far wall with a blurry picture of a UFO with "I Want to Believe" in big, white letters. The office was a mess of documents, mostly X Files, all over the place. Special Agent Pines sat at his desk. He had been watching a cryptid documentary on a small TV. He got up and walked up to Fiddleford as he entered the office.   
"Hey, there! You must be my new partner. The name's Special Agent Stanford Pines but feel free to just call me Pines," Ford shook Fiddleford's hand enthusiastically with a wide grin on his face.  
As Ford shook his hand, Fiddleford noticed the extra finger. "Oh, I'm Special Agent Fiddleford McGucket, and you can call me McGucket. Oh, um, by the way, I just wanted to say that I think your six fingers are cool. I've never actually seen something like that before," Fiddleford stammered, trying his best not to make it sound awkward.   
"Oh, haha! Thanks! I don't...really hear nice stuff about them all that much. But let's cut to the chase. I know you got stuck with me. Hell, I mean, who wants to be partnered up with 'Weirdo Pines,' right? So, don't feel like you have to try to be nice to me," Ford said, taking a seat on his desk. "I know most people here think I'm a nut. So...McGucket..I know you specialize in computers and programming, but I must ask: do you believe in aliens?"   
Fiddleford gave him a look. "Well, seeing as their isn't much evidence besides skeptical accounts and blurry pictures, I have to say I don't. Now, I know you specialize in chemistry and astrophysics, but what exactly made you so, um, interested in extraterrestrials?" Fiddleford asked, leaning up against the door.   
"A childhood incident. Let's just..keep it at that for now. So, have you heard about our first assignment?" Ford quickly dodged the subject.   
"Uh, no. I wasn't informed," Fiddleford eyed him suspiciously.   
Ford flashed him a smile. "It's for an X File actually. From now on, you'll be investigating the X Files with me. This one is taking us to New Jersey in a small town with people being taken right out of their rooms at night and found in the morning on the outskirts of town with strange markings."   
"Let me guess. You're thinking these people are getting abducted by aliens?" Fiddleford made sure to lay on the sarcasm.   
"Well, of course! The truth is out there, McGucket, and we're going to find it."   
"Mmhmm..if you say so. If they are out there, you'll need some hard scientific proof to make me into a believer," he huffed.   
Ford stood up from where he was sitting on the table and walked right up to Fiddleford until he was back up against the door.   
"Hmph..very well! I look forward to our first assignment together. You know, I can already tell that you're going to be an interesting partner. So, I'll see you tomorrow for our flight to New Jersey," Ford was slightly taller than Fiddleford, so he looked down at the shorter man.   
"Um, yeah! Well, I'm sure you have some work to do, so I'll see you tomorrow!" he said rather quickly, pushing down the handle on the door which nearly sent him falling on his ass.   
He laughed nervously as he waved and headed down the long hallway. He looked back once to see Ford waving goodbye before shutting the door. Fiddleford could still feel the heat from the heavy blush on his face. "Why am I blushing so much? I mean, sure, it was kind of an embarrassing situation, but when he came so close to me, I...no, no, I can't be thinking about that. Get a hold of yourself, Fiddleford." He tried to shake a few not so decent thoughts from his mind.   
As he ventured back into the normally lit parts of the headquarters, he nearly ran into the assistant director going around a corner.   
"Oh, sorry, sir! My apologies!"   
"Ah, Agent McGucket. Did you meet Agent Pines?" he pulled Fiddleford over to the far wall of the hallway to keep from blocking the people traffic.   
"Y-yes, I did. He also briefed me on the assignment to New Jersey. So, we have a flight tomorrow morning?"   
"Yup. At 9 A.M. Now, I know he may be difficult, especially with all his 'alien' talk, but just try your best to deal with him. Good luck, McGucket," with that, he quickly left.   
When Fiddleford finally got back to his office, he noticed a copy of the X File had been placed on his desk. "Well, here we go," he mumbled to himself as he began flipping through the pages. He hadn't even noticed the time until he looked up and saw the darkening sky in shades of deep blue and a faint gray light fading into the horizon. "Ah, dang! I gotta head home!" He waved at some of the other agents staying late and headed towards his apartment on the outskirts of D.C. 

It was a brisk October morning when Fiddleford took a cab over to the airport. He took a deep inhale of cold autumn air before making his way inside. He carried a small roll along suitcase and his laptop in a zippered bag. He flashed his badge to skip through the lines and towards the terminal. "Let's see...Terminal 2A should be right...here." He looked down from the terminal sign to see Ford over by the gate waving at him. Fiddleford groaned slightly and approached him.   
"Hey, it's about time you got here. Come on, we're going to board soon," Ford said, guiding Fiddleford along to the gate by the shoulder. "New Jersey awaits!"   
Fiddleford let Ford take the window seat, breathing a sigh of relief when he sat down. He let his mind wander into distant memories as the plane began to take off.   
"Not a fan of flying?" Ford was looking over at him now, snapping Fiddleford out of his daze.   
"It's just been a while since I've flown somewhere. For a while, they had me working at HQ: hacking jobs and stuff, you know, with me being the computer whiz and all." Fiddleford found himself a bit as he began conversing with Ford. He was hardly noticing the turbulence and movements of the plane. Fiddleford wasn't going to ask him about it, but curiosity got the better of him.   
"So, if you don't mind my asking, I'm guessing you were born with six fingers on each hand?"   
Ford gazed down at his hand resting on the arm rest. "Yeah. They say it's a rare abnormality. The doctors aren't quite sure how it happened. They just say it was an extremely rare mutation. I used to absolutely hate how it made me different. Of course I got bullied a lot for it, but now I'm kind of glad. The six fingers is something that makes me different, and I've learned that different can be a good thing." Ford looked back over at Fiddleford.   
"Well, if it's any consolation, I think they're pretty awesome," he said, cracking a nervous grin.   
Ford smiled back at him, coughing a bit and fixing his glasses. They stayed quiet for the rest of the flight. Ford nodded off, laying back in the chair, which allowed Fiddleford to look out the window. The sun was still low on the horizon, a blazing orange orb that made the clouds hovering below it to shimmer in hues of orange and yellow. "Wow," he whispered. He stared out the window for the remainder of the flight. Ford didn't wake up until a violent bump from the plane landing jolted the inside of the cabin.   
"What's happening??" he shouted as he was violently woken up from his slumber.   
"Calm down. We just landed," Fiddleford steadied him with a hand on his shoulder.   
"Oh, cool," Ford yawned, stretching his arms up over his head.   
Once the plane pulled up to the terminal, they gathered up their bags and headed towards the exit. As soon as they walked outside, there was already a rental car waiting for them. Once Fiddleford packed away their stuff in the trunk, Ford dangled the keys in front of him. "I'll drive if you don't mind," he said in a teasing tone.   
"Fine by me as long as you don't get us in an accident, UFO boy," Fiddleford shrugged, opening the door to the passenger side.   
"Oh, trust me. You have nothing to worry about," Ford assured as he climbed into the drivers seat. "Don't forget to buckle up," he reminded Fiddleford.   
"Yes, yes," he replied, strapping himself in.   
Fiddleford gazed out the window as Ford drove. As they headed into the country side, the buildings gradually became smaller and smaller until only a few houses and farms could be spotted. They passed through a few forests, most of the leaves were turning in this time of early October. Shades of yellow, orange, and red whizzed past them in a blur of colors as the car sped by.   
"It'll be about half an hour until we reach the town," Ford informed. "Oh and do you mind if I play a tape? It's just abduction accounts and extraterrestrial stuff like that."   
"Go for it. I'll just block it out," Fiddleford sighed.   
"Thanks! And you never know. You might actually find some of this stuff interesting."   
"Doubtful."   
As the tape began playing, Fiddleford let himself drift off, seeing the deep autumn woods before closing his eyes.   
A half an hour later, Fiddleford woke up to his head being shaken by Ford.   
"Hey, McGucket! We're here!" he stopped when he noticed that Fiddleford was waking up.   
"Ugh..you didn't have to shake my head, you know," he mumbled while pinching the bridge of his nose.   
"Haha, sorry! We're at the motel right now. Let's drop off our stuff, then head out to begin the investigation," Ford said almost too cheerfully.   
Fiddleford was still a bit groggy as they took their stuff over to the building. He followed Ford over to Room 103.   
"Wait, are we sharing a room?" Fiddleford asked, his heart beat increasing.   
"Yeah, but don't worry, there are two queen sized beds inside. Since we're both male agents, the assistant director didn't see a problem with it," Ford informed while they went inside the room.   
It was a standard motel room with two beds, a small living area, desk, kitchenette, and a bathroom. After dropping off the suitcases by the beds, Ford turned towards Fiddleford. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take a quick shower. That'll give you some time to settle in before we head into town." Ford winked at him while grabbing a few things from his duffle.   
"Oh, yeah. That'd be great so I can start on my report. Thanks!" Fiddleford said while he began setting up his laptop on the desk.   
"See you in a few!" Ford waved while closing the bathroom door.   
Fiddleford heard the shower go off a few minutes later. As the laptop started up, a few "thoughts" began to sneak into his mind. "No, no, no. Don't think about that alien nerd that way. Get a hold of yourself. You got to at least start this damn report." He opened up the word processor and began typing. "This is Special Agent Fiddleford H. McGucket on an assignment with Special Agent Stanford F. Pines pertaining to X File 941 on people being mysteriously abducted from their rooms at night and found in a field the next morning with strange markings. It's in a small, sleepy town in western New Jersey. My partner and I..."   
"Guess I'll stop there for now until we've done some investigating." Fiddleford sat back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling with a distant look in his eyes. "What have I gotten myself into?"


	2. The Truth is Out There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2! Woo, this chapter was fun to write, especially the sexual tension like seriously Fidds control your thirst ;^^ anyway, hope you guys like it!

The small town was surrounded by trees ablaze with the colors of fall. Fiddleford and Ford latched their badges onto the pocket of their suit jackets. As soon as the two of them got out of the car and onto the sidewalk of the quaint downtown area, they were already sticking out like sore thumbs. Fiddleford should have been used to the stares. Many people weren't too fond of FBI, especially in towns like this one, but he still stuck close to Ford, keeping his gaze forward.   
"It's been a while since you've been out in the field, hasn't it? Don't tell me the stares are getting to you," Ford teased, looking over at the other agent.   
"Ugh..don't start with me, Pines. Let's just worry about getting to the police station," Fiddleford grumbled. He looked over to a group of teenagers adamantly gazing over at the two agents.   
"Well, here we are," Ford had to tug on the back of Fiddleford's jacket to get him to stop. The police station loomed in front of them as one of the tallest buildings in the tiny downtown area.   
"You really think they're going to openly talk about these abductions with us?" Fiddleford asked as they headed inside.   
"You'd be surprised. I think they're pretty desperate if we're here to investigate, right?"   
"I suppose you're right, but I hope you're prepared to be disappointed when we find out aliens aren't the cause of this."   
Just as Ford was about to answer, a female voice called out, "Oh, federal agents! Over here!"   
They both turned around to find a woman in a police uniform in her 20's waving at them.   
"We'll see," Ford whispered as they headed over to her. "Hello! I'm Agent Pines, and this is my partner Agent McGucket. We're here to-"   
"Investigate the abductions, yeah! And it's about time you two got here. We're getting desperate," the young woman finished Ford's sentence without skipping a beat, leaving him a bit bewildered. Fiddleford tried his best to keep from cracking up, followed by a sharp elbow in his arm from Ford.   
"Oh, I'm sorry! Forgot to introduce myself. I'm Melody, the deputy around here. If both of you could follow me, we can talk more in my office. I also have a few reports and documents that might help with the case," the deputy smiled at them.   
As they followed her, Ford flashed Fidds a condescending smile. "Told you they're desperate," he whispered. "So, what? It still isn't going to be because of aliens. I'll show you that this is all because of something rational," he vehemently whispered back.   
"Um, what are you two whispering about?"   
"Government stuff," they said at the same time.   
"Well, um, anyway, here we are. After you two," the deputy ushered them in, closing the door behind her. She proceeded to dig through her desk as Ford and Fidds took the two seats in front of it.   
"Here are some pictures of the markings on the first person abducted after she was found in Sky Field east of town, along with an eyewitness account from her brother who claims to have seen the moment she was abducted. There are several other reports; however, they're all the same: person gets abducted from their room in a flash of bright light and found later in the field dazed, confused, and with strange markings. Feel free to look through that as much as you need to, and I'll answer any questions you have."   
Fidds leaned over next to Ford to look at the photos and report. On the front was a picture of a young red headed teenager with the name: Wendy Corduroy. Ford eagerly flipped through the photographs of the markings. They spanned down the forearms of the abductees. From the crook of the arm was a circle with two smaller circles within it. The smallest circle was completely colored in with the same light gray as the others. Spanning down the forearms after the circles were three triangles that got gradually smaller. Within each triangle was some kind of strange writing the likes of which neither Ford nor Fiddleford had seen before.   
"Has anyone been able to decipher this writing on the triangles?" Ford asked, still studying the photograph.   
"I'm afraid not. We've shown it to a few linguist experts in town, but they say it doesn't match any known language, even ancient ones. The markings are all the same on everyone who's been abducted," the deputy replied.   
"So, the name of the first abductee is Wendy Corduroy?" Fiddleford spoke up.   
"Yes. Her and her family live on the house on the hill. Feel free to talk to them, but I must warn you that Mr. Corduroy can be quite...difficult. So, good luck with him."   
"So, deputy. I just have one more question," Ford looked up from the documents.   
"Oh, and what would that be, Agent Pines?"   
Ford looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Do you believe this is the work of...aliens?"   
"What kind of question is that supposed to be, Pines? Just ignore him, Deputy," Fidds scolded while face palming.   
"Now, hold on Agent McGucket. There are actually a lot of us here who think there might be extraterrestrials involved."   
"Oh, is that so?" Ford gave Fidds a snarky smile while the other agent stared back at him in disgust.   
"Um, yeah! It's a local extraterrestrials club of sorts. There's an area in the local library where they meet. In fact, I believe they have a meeting tonight at six if you think it'll aid in your investigation," she informed.   
Fiddleford was about to intervene, but Ford cut him off with a hand to his mouth. "Sounds great! Thank you for letting us know. Well, with these documents, we should be well on our way to solving this mystery. Thanks again, but McGucket and I need to get going. Only have so many hours in the day, you know?" Ford dragged Fiddleford along as they headed for the door.   
"Oh, not a problem, agents! I hope your investigation goes well!" she waved as they headed out.   
As soon as they were out of the police station and back outside, Fiddleford swatted Ford's hand off of him. "We aren't actually going to that club's meeting, are we?" Fidds rolled his eyes at Ford's triumphant smile.   
"Well, seeing that aliens are still a possibility, I think it would help more than hurt to check it out. Never know, McGucket. You might actually learn something," Ford winked at him. "Now, come on. We need to head over to Miss Corduroy's house since she was the first one to be taken and found in the field." Fiddleford begrudgingly followed after Ford to the car, grumbling to himself.   
"McGucket, I can guarantee that by the end of this case, I'm going to get you to admit that there might be aliens out there. I don't expect to fully convert you to a believer like me right away, but I'll at least get you to admit that," Ford said when they were both in the car.   
"Yeah, yeah. We'll see Pines," Fidds muttered, looking out the window.   
Fiddleford glanced over at Ford a few times as they drove over to the only large hill in town. He watched as the sunlight danced across his face as it filtered through the leaves of nearby trees. It made his hazlenut colored hair shimmer in lighter tones. His eyes moved down to his jawline and the stubble that lined it. His mind was starting to think about how rough it'd feel against his skin. He was so lost in thought, he hadn't noticed how long he'd been staring until Ford's brown eyes shifted over to his blue ones.   
"Uh, do you need something from me? I think you've been staring at me for a while."   
This made Fiddleford snap back to reality. "Oh, uh, no. Sorry about that! I guess I must've zoned out or something," he said, nervously scratching the back of his head.   
Ford chuckled, resuming his attention to driving. They had just reached the driveway to the house. The car ventured into a heavily forested area that was lit up with leaves of orange and yellow leaves. The driveway wound up the hill in a zig zag pattern for a while until they finally reached the top. They came upon a two story log cabin house with a blue front door and wrap around porch decorated with different lanterns. The top of the hill was cleared of trees, save for one, and overlooked the downtown area. The one tree was an enormous, old oak that towered over the house, a tire swing hung from one of the lower branches. Before going to the front door, Fidds and Ford walked over by the tire swing, admiring the view. "Imagine being up here at night and seeing this view," Ford said, looking over at Fidds. "Yeah, especially with the full moon tonight."   
They then went over to the front door. Fidds took a deep breath before knocking on the blue door.   
"Be there in a minute!" a deep, booming voice resonated from the inside.   
They both looked at each other with concerned looks. "How about you do the talking, McGucket? You're great with people."   
"Are you serious??" Fiddleford harshly whispered as he heard heavy footsteps stomping towards the door. Ford gave him a thumbs up as the handle started turning.   
A huge man with red hair and beard opened the door, a pissed off look on his face. "The feds? What do you want?"  
"Um, g-good afternoon! I'm Agent McGucket, and this is Agent Pines. W-w-we're here investigating the recent abductions and were wondering if we could speak with a Wendy Corduroy. I'm guessing you're her father..maybe," Fidds tried to keep his voice steady and keeping the squeaking to a minimum. He held his badge up with a shaky hand.   
The lumberjack squinted at the badge. "Yeah, the name's Dan Corduroy. You two seem pretty official, so I'll let you talk to her, BUT if you upset her at all or do anything I don't like, this fist is meeting both of your faces. GOT IT?" he spoke as if he was always shouting, his abrasive voice making Fidds cringe.   
"Ah, of course! We understand, sir!" Fiddleford assured, his speech gradually getting faster the faster his heart pounded.   
"Good. Well, Wendy should be just getting out of school. You two wait in the living room. She'll be here soon."   
They were practically shoved into the living area, both taking a seat on the couch. Dan returned shortly after with two bottles. "Here ya go, Feds," he pounded the bottles down on the table, causing Fidds to yelp. He pointed a finger right at Fiddleford. "This jumpy little thing could definitely use it." With that, he left them alone there.   
"Hey, McGucket, nice job!" Ford gently nudged him with his elbow. "You kept it together pretty well, and that guy was extremely intimidating.   
Fidds blushed a bit. "Oh, thanks. I guess now we just wait for his daughter to come home."   
"Yeah, maybe talking with her can confirm the pattern," Ford muttered, taking a sip from the bottle.   
"Wait, what pattern?" Fidds looked over at him.   
Ford suddenly wrapped an arm around Fidds' shoulders. "Well, I've been looking over the different accounts, and it seems that these abductions always happen when there's a full moon. Exactly one teenager is abducted on nights with a full moon," Ford informed, speaking in almost a whisper.   
"So, you're saying that an abduction is going to happen tonight?" Fidds whispered back.   
Ford was about to reply when they heard a door by the garage open and close along with a young female voice. "Hey, dad, I' m home! Hey, what's with the weird car in the drive way?"   
"The two feds in town want to talk to you, Wendy. They're in the living room," the usual booming voice answered.   
As they heard her footsteps coming closer, Ford let go of Fiddleford, placing his arm back by his side. A girl in her high school years stood in front of them with long, red hair nearly the exact shade as Dan's and wearing a flannel shirt. "Oh, hiya! So, you're the two FBI agents. The name's Wendy," she greeted them while taking a seat across from them.   
"Nice to meet you, Wendy! I'm Agent Pines, and this is my partner Agent McGucket. So, we hear that you were the first to be abducted in this town. Could you tell us about that day and the abduction from what you remember?" Ford asked.   
"Yeah, sure thing, man! Let's see...Well that day went along like normal. It was a Friday, so I woke up early for school. After that, I hung out with some friends for a while, and that's when I noticed something strange. We were just hanging out watching a movie when both of my arms felt like they were burning. I ran to the bathroom, but didn't find any markings on my arms besides a few red splotches. The sensation went away after a while, but it was one of the strangest things to happen to me. Then later that night, a buzzing sound woke me up. When I opened my eyes, my room was lit up by a super bright light, and I couldn't move. I saw a shadowy figure approaching me, and that's when I blacked out. When I woke up, I found myself in Sky Field east of town with these markings that are still on my arms," Wendy flipped her arms over to reveal the same markings they saw in the pictures.   
"So, I'm guessing these are permanent markings," Ford said, staring at the shapes.   
"Yeah. I mean, people just think they're tattoos, but, still, looking at them reminds me of that night and how scared I was. Some people are telling me I was marked by aliens for..who knows what. What do you guys think this is?" Wendy asked with a frightened look on her face.   
Fidds cut Ford off as he was about to answer. "I'm sure aliens is the first to come to mind since the issue can easily be dismissed and explained by that. However, I think this might be the work of a sick individual who probably uses a drug of some sort to simulate an alien abduction. I don't think actual aliens have anything to do with this," Fidds said, exaggerating the last part while glancing over at Ford.   
"Hmmm, that does make sense. Well, if it is some weirdo doing all this, I hope you guys can catch them. I'd like to know why they're doing this. So, if that's all you two need from me, I actually have some homework to work on if you don't mind."   
"Oh, not at all! Thank you so much for telling us about what happened to you. I promise that we're going to get to the bottom of this," Fiddleford said while shaking her hand. Ford nodded at her as they made their way out. Wendy waved at them before closing the front door.   
"Wow, looks like my alien theory has another theory to contend with. I suppose some town weirdo is another possibility," Ford said while starting the car.   
"That's what happens when you reason by actually looking at the facts in front of you instead of jumping to wild conclusions just because they're convenient," Fidds replied, not hesitating at all.   
"Hmph, you're a pretty tough nut to crack, aren't you?" Ford chuckled as they drove down the winding driveway.   
"Well, if you can show me hard evidence supporting the existence of aliens, then I'll be more open to your theory."   
"Maybe that'll change tonight, then. Remember, there's going to be an abduction tonight based on the pattern. Now, let's see, what was the time the deputy said that alien club meeting is?"   
"Six, I think."   
"Hmm, so we have about a little over an hour to kill. Wanna get an early dinner?" Ford asked as they began heading into town.   
"I don't see why not," Fidds sighed.   
They ate at a steakhouse in town, Ford bouncing off more conspiracy theories and Fidds listening while trying his best not to cringe or interject. He then asked Fiddleford a bit on his hacking work at HQ along with some of his interests. Before they knew, six o'clock was approaching fast, so they quickly sped over to the public library. Lights from the interior of the library shone like a beacon in the coming darkness of dusk as the agents walked in. The extraterrestrials club was rather easy to spot with a big group of mostly middle aged citizens along with a few young people. All of their eyes zoomed in on the two agents in their suits.   
"Hey, it's the two FBI agents! Over here guys!" they both turned their heads over towards the familiar voice to see Wendy there waving at them.   
"You're a part of this club, Wendy?" Fidds asked in disbelief as they approached the group.   
"Yeah, dude! Oh, Pines, McGucket, this is my friend, Robbie," she gestured to a young man with black hair and a grey hoodie. "Sup," he muttered, looking down.   
Fidds was just about to say something when a bunch of other club members surrounded them.   
"Woah! You guys are FBI, right? Is it true that the government is hiding secrets about aliens and alien technology?"   
"It is possible. Even though we're FBI, there's still a lot of classified information we're not aware of or allowed to know. Though I hope to learn some of these secrets myself," Ford began conversing with them. He showed them his six fingers, which immediately enthralled them and drew even more people over.   
Fiddleford rolled his eyes. "Of course." He was just about to pull Ford away from the group when he overheard Wendy and Robbie talking. "Man, my arms have been burning like crazy today, and I don't know why," Robbie muttered, scratching his arms.   
"Burning?...wait a minute," Fidds thought. He was about to approach Robbie when Ford pulled him over by him. "And this is my partner, Agent McGucket. He's definitely a skeptic when it comes to the existence of aliens. Says he needs hard evidence," Ford explained while placing a hand on Fiddleford's shoulder. The others proceeded to berate him and flash blurry pictures of UFO's in his face.   
"We were wondering what any of you think or know about the recent abductions," Ford said.   
As people began speaking up, Fidds looked back to see that Wendy and Robbie had left. "Dammmit."   
"My daughter was actually the most recent abductee. She still has the marks on her arms," a man in his forties spoke up. "I have no doubt that something otherworldly is involved. I mean, how else can you explain how she just disappears from her room without a trace and ends up miles away at Sky Field?"   
Fidds went onto explain how there are ways for that to happen without aliens or unknown forces. After further arguments and Roswell being brought up, Fiddleford had had enough. He pulled Ford along, "I'm done here, and I have a new lead, so let's go, Pines."   
Ford waved at the group before Fidds towed him over through the exit. Night was setting in as a few bright stars began to dot the gray sky. The full moon shone brightly and high in the sky. They both stopped under a nearby street light with Fidds breathing a sigh of relief.   
"Said you had a new lead?" Ford asked nonchalantly.   
"Yes! You were too busy with your alien nerd talk to notice, but Wendy's friend Robbie was complaining about his arms feeling like they were burning. Sound familiar?"   
Ford looked at him, wide eyed. "Haha, McGucket! The next abductee! It's him! Brilliant!"   
He gave Fidds a quick kiss on the forehead while laughing in excitement, leaving the other man standing there in disbelief with a deep scarlet blush on his face. Ford proceeded to call the deputy.   
"Hey, it's Agent Pines. My partner has a new lead, and it's imperative we know where a 'Robbie' lives. I don't think he caught a last name but a teenager, gray hoodie, etc."   
"Ah, you must mean Robbie Valentino. His parents run the town's funeral home. It's a few blocks down from the super market. Good luck with the new lead!" Ford excitedly thanked her and hung up.   
"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" he dragged a still in shock Fiddleford with him to the car. Ford got them over to the funeral home in record time and began the stakeout.   
"How long is this going to take?" Fidds sighed, after a few hours of staring at the house as the moon climbed higher into the sky. At around 10:30, they spotted Robbie going into the house. A few lights were turned on and off until just the lights from his bedroom illuminated the window. The town was beginning to settle in for the night as surrounding buildings darkened and deserted streets lit only by the lone streetlights.   
"When is this supposed to happen?" Fidds asked in a quiet voice.   
"Eleven o'clock on the dot. Everyone of them."   
"Let's agree to start heading in there at five to, then."   
Ford nodded in agreement. At around 10:55, the agents walked up to the funeral home, keeping an eye on the darkened bedroom window. Ford knocked on the door and rang the doorbell shouting, "Federal agents, open up!" Strangely, despite their constant ringing the doorbell, no one got up and answered the door.   
"Break in?" Fiddleford turned towards Ford.   
"Break in," Ford answered while cocking his hand gun.   
One shot rang out as he shot the lock. As they ran into the house, they both stopped right before the stairs, holding their guns up and breathing hard. Suddenly, a grandfather clock rang out, signaling eleven o'clock. Just like all the other incidents, a bright light suddenly emanated from the upstairs bedroom.   
"Come on, we have to hurry!" Fiddleford shouted while bolting up the stairs and into the bedroom.   
"Hey, McGucket, wait!" Ford chased after him but was suddenly blinded by the light as he entered the bedroom. He fell to his knees, desperately squinting, trying to make out the blurry shapes in front of him. All he could hear was a constant buzzing and Fidds screaming, "No, no, no! What do you want from me? Get away!"   
A gun fired and then the bedroom was back to normal. Ford's vision began to return to him. He groaned as he picked himself back up and looked around the bedroom to find both Robbie and Fiddleford gone. "Oh no, McGucket." A single thought ran through his mind as he sprinted down the stairs and out into the night air: the field.


	3. Seeing is Believing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3!! Some cute fiddauthor stuff in this chapter, enjoy!

Ford sped down to Sky Field, probably breaking several traffic laws in the process. Sky Field was a huge open field surrounded by the forest. The full moon shone above it, illuminating it in a ghostly light. A gentle night breeze shifted the grass around, sending ripples and waves through it. As soon as Ford stopped the car, he sprinted like a mad man over into the grass. He immediately spotted two people sprawled out in the middle of the field, lying face up. He spotted Fiddleford on the left, his shirt and tie messed up a bit and Robbie lying unconscious to the right. Kneeling over Fidds, Ford quickly dialed 911. "This is Agent Pines of the FBI. There's been another abduction, and I need an ambulance over to Sky Field as soon as possible. Thanks." He hung up and turned to Fiddleford when he heard a quiet groan as the other agent began waking up. He began shaking and shifting his eyes around wildly.   
"P-Pines? Is that you? Wh-where am I??" he began hyperventilating and shaking even more uncontrollably.   
"It's okay, McGucket. I'm here. You're safe," he cooed, cradling Fidds in his arms, holding his head by the crook of his neck.   
"They g-grabbed me. All I saw were shadows, but I could f-feel them in my mind. It was l-like my mind was being probed, and.." Fiddleford stuttered, turning into a stuttering, whimpering mess.   
"Don't try to talk. Just hang onto me. You're safe in my arms," Ford hugged him, pressing Fidds up against him snugly.   
Ford checked his arms by gently rolling up his sleeves and saw the same symbols as the others etched onto the skin; however, the symbols in the triangles was a bit different. Within a few minutes, he saw an ambulance and several police cruisers pulling him up. Ford picked up Fidds in his arms and carried him over to the car. Paramedics rushed past him and hoisted Robbie onto a stretcher. Ford sat on the trunk of the car, holding Fiddleford, gently stroking his head and singing to him softly, trying to calm him down. Eventually, Fiddleford's breathing regulated, though he still shivered a bit.   
"Agent Pines! What happened?" he looked over towards the voice to see Deputy Melody running towards him.   
"Another abduction, I'm afraid. However, this time, my partner was taken as well," he gazed down at his traumatized partner.   
"Oh no! I'm so sorry!"   
"How's Robbie?" Ford asked.   
"He's just waking up, but he's still pretty out of it. I think he'll be alright," Melody informed.   
"Listen, you just worry about getting your partner somewhere safe. We'll worry about getting down to the bottom of this tomorrow. Good night!" the deputy waved at Ford, trudging back over to the police cars.   
He nodded and waved at her. He gently placed Fidds into the passenger seat, buckling him in.   
"I'm driving us to the motel, alright?" he spoke softly.   
Fiddleford only nodded, keeping his eyes toward the ground. Ford drove over to the motel quickly, trying to go slow around the curves and bumps since Fidds was still pretty jumpy. He pulled the car right up in front of their room's door. Grabbing a blanket from the back, he wrapped it around Fiddleford's shoulders, gingerly guiding him inside and sitting him down on the bed. He slid Fiddleford's suit jacket off, pulled off his black tie, and unbuttoned the first few top buttons on his shirt and untucking his shirt. Ford finally took Fidds' shoes off, and then tucked him into bed. He turned off all the lights in the room except for the lone lamp on the nightstand. Humming a song, he slid his round glasses off his face and gently pet Fidds' head with one hand and rubbed his back with the other. He kept at this until Fiddleford's shuddering stopped and his breathing relaxed.   
"It's alright. You're safe here with me," Ford whispered.   
Once Fiddleford seemed to be relaxed, Ford tucked the covers over him and was about to get off the bed when Fidds suddenly turned and grabbed his wrist.   
"W-would you mind..staying with me?" his voice was still a bit shaky, eyes still wide and feared with fear.   
"Of course," Ford smiled at him, shedding himself of his jacket, tie, and shoes. Pulling the covers over both of them, he slung an arm around Fiddleford, pulling him close. Fidds slid a hand through Ford's hair on the back of his head and clutched some of Ford's shirt in the other, resting his head by his chest. Ford, kept his arm slung around Fidds' waist. Before he forgot, Ford removed his glasses and placed them next to Fiddleford's. Eventually, Ford's steady heart beat lulled the other man to sleep. 

A few rays of sunlight danced across Fiddleford's face as he woke up still pressed up against Ford who still breathed heavily in sleep. The memories of last night were more of a muddled, hazy mess now. The sensations and what he saw weren't so sharp and piercing. Just trying to recall them made him groan. He pushed them back into the hazy recesses of his mind, enjoying basking in Ford's body heat. At his movements, Ford began to wake, slowly opening his eyes to find Fiddleford still snuggled up to him.   
"Mornin," he muttered, still waking up.   
"Oh, uh, morning!" Fidds chirped, gazing up at Ford's face.   
Without warning, Ford brought his lips to Fiddleford's, tightening his grip around the other man's waist.   
"Wh-what was that for?"   
"Think I didn't notice you staring and pining after me yesterday? Plus, you looked cute staring up at me like that," Ford said, running six giners through his blonde hair.   
"But I mean, we're partners and um..was I really that obvious?"   
"Oh, please. As long as we get this investigation done, it shouldn't matter what we do. And yeah, you're not as slick as you think, McGucket," Ford pressed his forehead against Fiddleford's. He gently stroked his back. "How are you feeling? You were pretty traumatized last night."   
"The memories of what happened are all hazy now. I can remember a few things and shapes but most of it is a blur now. I...have those markings on my arms, don't I?" Fidds asked, stroking the side of Ford's face.   
"Yeah, I'm afraid so. Though the symbols on yours are a bit different than the others. It's probably for the best that you don't remember it well."   
"Hey, Pines," Fidds looked into his eyes.   
"Hmm?"   
"Could we..kiss again?" he asked, blushing profusely.   
"Hehe..already thirsty for me?" Ford chuckled.   
Fidds was about to tell him to shut up when Ford's lips silenced him as Ford rolled him over and laid on top of him. He moaned as he felt Ford's stubble scratch against his face. Fidds raked his fingers through Ford's hair as the kissing deepened and became more intense. Fidds broke the kiss as he felt Ford's fingers slowly sliding up from under his shirt. He breathed heavily, catching his breath.   
"F-For-err I mean Pines," Fiddleford corrected himself.   
"You know we only have to address each other like that in a professional setting. Out of work, on our own, we can call each other by our first names," Ford slid his hands further up Fiddleford's shirt. Ford began caressing his neck, moving down to his collar bone slowly, kissing the thin skin gently and smiling each time he got a moron out of Fidds. They continued to make out, Ford pushing Fidds against the head board as he slid his hands up the back of Fidds' shirt. He pulled away when he glanced at the clock reading 11:59.   
"Sorry, Fidds. Looks like we'll have to continue this later. We have an investigation to wrap up," Ford sighed, easing himself off of Fiddleford.   
"Oh, r-right! I mean I just have to write the field report, and then we have tonight," Fidds said, looking up at Ford.   
"Mmm, yeah we do," Ford flashed him a snarky smile.   
"Wait," he said as Ford was about to leave for the bathroom.   
Fidds intertwined his fingers with Ford's with two of Ford's fingers in between his ring and pinkie fingers because of the extra one. Fidds just grinned like a dork and looked up at Ford. Ford landed a light kiss on his forehead.   
"Let's wrap up this X-File, agent."   
Once both of them had their suits on, they headed out for the funeral home to check in on Robbie.   
"Well, if it isn't the FBI agents! Come on in," Mrs. Valentino ushered them inside with a cheerful smile on her face. "Robbie will be down in just a minute. Sit down and have some tea."   
Ford and Fiddleford sat down at the small table. After a few minutes, they could hear Robbie's distinct grumbling followed by stomping footsteps towards the kitchen. His usually furrowed brow furrowed even more when he saw the two agents.   
"Ugh, the feds. What do you guys want?" he begrudgingly grabbed the chair across from them.   
"The abduction last night..Can you tell us what you remember?" Ford asked.   
"Last night, huh? Yeah, that was pretty crazy. I woke up to this buzzing sound, and my whole room was lit up by some bright light. I heard your partner shout something, then I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in an ambulance. That's all I remember," Robbie sighed.   
"Alright, that's what I expected. Now, do you have any strange markings left on the underside of your forearms since the abduction?"   
"What? Markings? No, my arms are fine, see?" Robbie rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie to reveal arms free of any strange markings.   
"What?! McGucket, what about your arms?" Ford asked frantically.   
Fiddleford rolled up his jacket sleeve to reveal the grey markings. "I still have them." Ford brought a hand up to his face with a contemplative expression on his face. "Strange. No markings on Robbie but ones on McGucket with different writing. Unless...it's a change in the pattern!"   
"A change in the pattern?" Fidds put a hand on Ford's shoulder.   
"Exactly! That's it! You, McGucket! You're the break in the pattern. Maybe they were waiting for this. They were waiting for someone to intervene and that was you!" Ford stood up suddenly, a wide grin on his face.   
"Uh, yeah. What's with your partner?"   
"You don't get it?? They were abducting teenagers for reasons I'm not sure of, but you broke their pattern. Now, I bet you're the only one with the markings now. Come on, we have to find the other abductees," he began pulling Fiddleford with him toward the door.   
"Thanks for answering our questions! I think we've solved this case!" Ford shouted before running out the door, dragging Fiddleford behind him.   
As soon as they were in the car, Fidds looked over at Ford. "Ford, what on ear-"   
He was swiftly cut off by Ford's lips meeting his. The kiss was hot against Fidds' mouth. It took him a few seconds to open his eyes once their lips parted.   
"Fidds, you're wonderful. I don't think this case would've been solved without you. You busted into Robbie's room to save him with no hesitation and accidentally broke the pattern. You're brilliant!" Ford grinned at him with a bit of blush on his cheeks.   
"Oh, uh, thanks!" Fidds stammered, trying not to look too flustered.   
Ford ruffled his hair. "You need to stop making me fall for you so easily," he chuckled. "Now, we just need to wrap a few things up and make sure that my prediction is correct. That the abductions are done for good."   
"This is the last night of the this month's full moon, isn't it?" Fiddleford asked.   
"That's right! I'm hoping Miss Wendy will let us use the hill so we can watch over the town to be sure the abductions are done for good here."   
With that, Ford sped off for the police station first. "Hey, Deputy!" Ford shouted and waved when he spotted her near the entrance.   
She nearly spilled a file she was holding as Ford's booming voice made her jump. "Oh, hello, agents!" she cleared her throat, while trying to keep the papers from fluttering out of the folder.   
"Just wanted to let you know that I think we've just about solved this case. The abductions should be done," Ford assured as him and Fiddleford walked up to her.   
"Woah! Really? Well, you gotta tell me how you guys did it!" Melody wore a huge grin on her face.   
"Let's just say it's all thanks to my partner, McGucket. He broke the pattern!"   
The next few minutes were filled with Melody and Ford jumping up and down and squealing with excitement. She waved at them as Fiddleford dragged Ford out of the station.   
"Thanks for everything, agents!"   
For the rest of the day, they visited other abductees to check to see that all the marks on them had disappeared. Just as Ford thought, the marks on all of them had disappeared except for the ones on Fiddleford. They made a stop for dinner at the usual diner before heading over to Wendy's house. The sun was sinking low in the horizon as they drove. The odd time of dusk was setting in as dark mixed with light. When they arrived at the top of the hill, they found Wendy on the tire swing watching the setting sun. She turned around at the sound of car doors closing and waved at the two agents.   
"Yo! Pines, McGucket, over here!"   
They sat down in the grass by the swing. A brisk wind blew about, scattering colorful leaves around in the air.   
"It's amazing, guys! The markings on my arms are completely gone. I'm guessing you guys solved it?" Wendy looked down at them from the swing.   
"It was all thanks to McGucket actually. He broke the pattern in the abductions. I think that's what the aliens *ahem* I mean mysterious entities were waiting for. If you don't mind, we'd like to use this spot to stake out the town. You know, make sure these abductions are done for good. Care to join us?" Ford asked.   
"Yeah, totally! You never know, maybe we'll see a real UFO!" Wendy kicked her feet around happily. "Oh and thanks, McGucket. Sounds like we have you to thank for more or less solving this mystery."   
"Well, uh, not a problem!" Fiddleford muttered, mindlessly picking at the grass.   
Ford and Wendy spent the time waiting for night to set in by excitedly talking about aliens and conspiracy theories with Fiddleford sitting there rolling his eyes and disproving nearly every single one.   
"Well, it's about abduction time, and I don't see anything out of the or-"   
"Woah, dudes, look up there by the moon!" Wendy interrupted, grabbing Ford's head and turning it towards a strange object in the sky.   
It was a large disk that glowed a bright blue. Glowing red lights dotted the middle edge of it, and it was slowly rotating. The three of them stood up and walked to the edge of the hill.   
"Hold up, I'm gonna grab my camera!" Wendy bolted towards a bag by the swing set.   
Ford and Fiddleford stood next to each other, gazing up at the object in awe. Ford looked over at Fidds and smiled at the look of shock and wonder on his face. He crept an arm around the other agent's shoulders, pulling Fidds close to him. Suddenly, the disk rotated rapidly, the red lights becoming blurred because of the motion. It lit up super bright, so bright it began to sting their eyes, and then, it vanished into the dark void of the night sky.   
Ford leaned his head against Fiddleford's, whispering, "Things like that are the reason I want to believe."   
Fidds only nodded, still staring up at the spot in the sky where the UFO had been. Ford walked the other agent over to the car, confiding a distraught Wendy and her missed photo opportunity. He waved at her as he began to drive down the hill. 

"You going to write that report?" Ford asked as they entered the motel room.   
"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry, still recovering from that experience," Fiddleford said, Ford's words snapping him back to reality.   
"Ah, you remind me of me after my first UFO sighting. Well, I'll be on my bed when you're done," he winked as he moved past Fidds.   
Fiddleford breathed in deeply as he sat himself down in front of the laptop. He began typing the field report. He described the events and people involved in detail. The writing began to flow as he recalled all that happened.   
"I can't say with certainty that extra terrestrials from somewhere far away from this planet are involved since there was no hard evidence to prove this. All I can call them are mysterious entities whose purpose for abducting teenagers during full moons is unknown. I myself was abducted, but all that's left are hazy memories of shadowy figures and markings with strange, foreign writing on both of my arms. I ended up breaking some sort of pattern and now the abductions have ceased. If it wasn't for Agent Pines' insights, we may have never solved this case. For now, this sleepy New Jersey town can rest easy thanks to this X-File."   
"Phew, well that's done," Fiddleford cracked his fingers as he saved and closed the laptop.   
He washed up in the bathroom, splashing cold water on his tired eyes. Ford was lying on his bed watching a documentary on the TV and peered over at Fiddleford as he plopped himself onto Ford's bed. Both were in their underwear and undershirts.   
"Still want to say you don't believe in aliens?" Ford rolled over on his side to face Fiddleford.   
"Well, I'm not really sure how to explain what I saw. But, you know me, I'm going to need some more proof to be able to say with certainty," Fidds stated.   
"Your determination is admirable."   
Ford reached over and cupped Fiddleford's cheek, lightly stroking it with his thumb.   
"You really need to work on that arrogance of yours, you know," Fiddleford mumbled, letting Ford pull him close.   
Fidds intertwined his fingers through Ford's hair as their lips eagerly met. They kissed in a slow and steady rhythm. Fidds letting himself melt into Ford's embrace.


	4. Enter the Tent of Telepathy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the longest chapter yet! Ahh these two..I love writing their interactions so much..enjoy the new chapter! ^^ some smut in this one

The ringing of his cellphone woke Fiddleford from a dead sleep. He held it loosely in his hand and answered with his eyes still closed like heavy veil.   
"H-hello?," he slurred, his mind still drowsy.   
"McGucket! We just got a new assignment!" Ford's voice boomed through the speaker, causing Fiddleford to hold it a good few inches from his ear. "Just pack up now. We have a flight to Oregon in a few hours. I'll tell you the details on the plane. Bye!" he promptly hung up.   
Fiddleford groaned as he forced himself out of bed. He walked over to the sink and splashed his face, trying to wake himself up. "Wonder what it'll be this time.."   
It took him about twenty minutes or so to throw everything in a suit case and strapped his gun and holster to his belt. Lastly, he placed his badge in the inside pocket of his jacket and headed for the airport.   
Ford gave him his usual goofy grin as Fiddleford approached him by the gate.   
"Hey, McGucket! Oh and sorry if I woke you. You sounded pretty out of it on the phone," Ford apologized, rubbing the back of his head nervously.   
"Oh, it's fine. Being an FBI agent, I'm used to it," Fidds reassured.   
"Oh, right, the X File! This one's on a family of supposed psychics that have a rent and travel the United States performing 'miracles.' The current family is in a little town in Oregon called Gravity Falls. So, we're going to investigate them and see if they really are the real thing," Ford informed as they got in line to board the jet.   
"Hmm, sounds like it could be an interesting case. At least it doesn't have to do with aliens this time."   
"Yeah, I'm kind of bummed about that, but it is an x file after all, so I'm excited!"   
Fidds smiled back at him as they boarded and sat next to each other with Fiddleford taking the window seat this time. Ford took care of lifting both their bags into the overhead bin and plopped down next to the other agent.   
"Hey, Ford, anything personal we talk about is off the record, alright?"   
"Of course! What's on your mind?" Ford looked over at him.   
"W-well, I was wondering, since our last assignment and 'things' that happened..are we, you know..together?" Fidds stammered.   
"Hmm..well, I like you a lot. So, if you're fine with it then so am I," Ford gingerly held onto Fiddleford's left hand that was on the arm rest.   
Fidds didn't know what to say. He just grinned and blushed profusely. As usual, Ford fell asleep a few minutes into the flight and rested his head on Fiddleford's shoulder. His heart fluttered as he felt Ford's breath against his neck every time he exhaled. Fidds tried to keep his thoughts under control by gazing out the window at the cloudy landscape around them. Clouds swirled and ebbed into different shapes, even into huge columns like enormous watch towers overlooking the sky.   
Once they landed, it was another few hours drive over to Gravity Falls. A thunderstorm brewed overhead as they drove through forests ablaze with fall colors with it being the end of October. A booming crack of thunder disrupted Ford as he was reading through the x file more. A sudden down pour began pelting the sedan like bullets.   
"You alright driving through this?" Ford asked as Fiddleford winced at the sudden flash of lightning.   
"I'll be fine. We only have about a half an hour until we're there anyway," Fidds was trying not to shake. Ever since he was a kid, he had been deathly afraid of storms of any kind.   
"Well, let me know if we need to switch."   
They arrived in town as dusk was beginning to set in. Once they parked near the motel, Fidds got out of the car, shaking like crazy. The rain was down to a light sprinkle now, creating a glisten on their hair. Ford was grabbing the bags out of the trunk. He suddenly dropped them when he noticed Fiddleford, his arms crossed tight and a terrified look in his eyes.   
"Hey, hey. You're shaking pretty badly," Ford walked over to him.   
"I-it's alright! I just..really don't like thunder storms. I-" he stopped as Ford wrapped his arms around him. He felt an instant calm wash over him with the security of being held, even his shaking settled down as he melted into Ford's embrace.   
"Let's get you inside," he whispered into Fiddleford's ear.   
Fidds only nodded and let Ford lead him to the room. He left for a second to grab their bags, so Fidds sat on the left queen sized bed, taking deep breaths to calm his heart beat. Oddly enough, Ford's embrace alone had really calmed him down.   
"I think the storm should be gone soon, Fidds. Oh, it's alright if I call you that when we're not doing stuff for the assignment, right?" Ford sat down next to him.   
"Oh, yeah! I don't see why not."   
Ford slung an arm around Fidds' shoulders. "So, I have a great idea for tonight before we start this assignment, which will most likely turn out to be a disappointment. Let's you and me change out of our suits and head to the bar. My treat!" Ford said, pressing his face against the other agent's.   
"Huh..I don't know, Ford. Sounds like that could end badly, especially since we're investigating tomorrow," Fidds grumbled.   
"Whaat? Come on, we're two responsible adults. Let's live a little before we have to get down to business," he coaxed.   
Fidds sighed, "Alright, alright. But only a few drinks."   
They both changed into more casual clothes, Fidds trying not to stare as Ford changed his shirt. He snuck a peek at bare broad shoulders going down to a slim waist. He changed into a salmon colored long sleeve shirt and dark jeans. Fidds changed into khakis and unbuttoned the first few buttons on his white collared shirt. By the time they ventured out to the car, the storm had passed and only a few fluffy clouds dotted the night sky. They stopped into a bar a little bit away from the main downtown area off in teh woods a ways. Fidds stuck by Ford's side as they took the two seats at the end. He tried to avoid the blatant stares from bikers and other rough characters, though for a small town bar, it was rather clean and welcoming on teh inside with decent lighting. They both started out with a beer saying "cheers" as they clanked the bottles together.   
"To a hopefully successful assignment with the Tent of Telepathy," Ford said before taking a swig.   
"Here, here."   
In reality, Fidds wasn't a huge fan of alcohol but still took some sips for Ford's sake. He could tell after a few bottles that Ford was beginning to get tipsy.   
"Well, it's getting kind of late. Maybe we should head back to the motel, and.."   
"H-hold on, Fidds. Prepare to be impressed. Hey, can I get four shots over here?" Ford shouted.   
The bar tender skillfully filled four shots and placed them in front of Ford.   
"Oh, no," Fidds whispered under his breath as Ford quickly downed each shot one after the other in under a minute.   
"Whad ya thinka that?" he hiccuped, swaying in his seat.   
"I think you're obviously drunk now, and we should head back to the motel. No driving for you," Fidds stood up and offered him a hand.   
"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm Fidds. I'm fine, Fidds," Ford mumbled, nearly falling on his ass if Fiddleford hadn't grabbed him by his shirt.   
He paid the bartender and helped Ford over to the car.   
"Fidds..you're really hot. You're like..the hottest agent in the FBI," he slurred as Fidds helped him into the room.   
"Yeah, ok, let's get you to bed."   
"Yeah, let's GET TO BED."   
Just as Fidds let go of him, Ford wrapped his arms around the skinnier man and dragged him onto the bed with him. He began trying to make out with Fiddleford.   
"No, Ford. You're drunk. Get off of me," Fidds pushed Ford's face away from him even though he was secretly loving the attention. He began laughing as Ford started sloppily kissing his neck and giving in a bit. It was nice to be fawned over even if he was drunk. However, he pushed Ford away as he tried to take of Fidds' shirt.   
"Sorry, but not tonight."   
He stood up and walked over to the bathroom, fixing his shirt in the process. Ford groaned but respected Fiddleford's wishes. Fidds walked over a few minutes later, holding a glass of water with an Alka-Seltzer. He helped Ford sit up.   
"Come on, you gotta drink all of it," he coaxed, bringing the glass up to Ford's mouth.   
Fidds gently stroked Ford's head, making sure he drank all of it. Soon after, Ford rolled over, beginning to fall asleep. Fiddleford removed his shoes and gingerly tucked him in, slipping off his glasses and placing them on the night stand.   
"You really are ridiculous," he sighed.   
He untucked his own shirt, removed his belt and hopped into bed but didn't cuddle with him to give him some space. He fell asleep listening to Ford's own rhythmic breathing. 

Fiddleford woke up to Ford draped over him, drooling on his arm.   
"Ford, it's time to wake up," Fidds cooed, stroking Ford's head.   
His face crinkled up as he awoke to a pounding headache. He groaned and moved up on top of Fidds, resting his head on his chest.   
"Do we have to go out there today? My head is killing me," Ford groaned into his shirt.   
"Sorry, but we do have an investigation to start," Fiddleford giggled a bit, rubbing Ford's back.   
Without warning, Ford brought his lips to Fidds', yielding a surprised moan from the other. Fidds ran his fingers down Ford's back as he let Ford deepen the kiss. Fiddleford smiled as they made out, feeling Ford's body heat emanating from him. He reluctantly pushed Ford off of him as he glanced over at the clock reading ten A.M.   
"I'm sorry, but we can continue this later. We should probably head out for the Tent of Telepathy soon."   
"Yeah, yeah. You're right. Ah, you're so hot, and no I can promise you I'm not drunk, though this headache is going to kill me," Ford stood up slowly, hanging onto his head in pain. "I need a shower. I feel gross."   
"Well, um, would you..want to take a shower together?" Fidds stammered.   
"Ohh, getting pretty bold, aren't you?"   
Fiddleford yelped as Ford suddenly hoisted him up and carried him into the bathroom. He could only laugh as Ford looked down at him gave him a goofy grin. Fiddleford wasn't quite sure what it was, but when he was in Ford's arms, he felt so safe and secure. He traced small circles in Ford's shirt with his fingers, feeling the soft fabric. As soon as their clothes were off, and they were both in the shower, Ford pushed Fiddleford against the shower's wall as they were both entangled in each other. Ford ran twelve fingers through Fidds' dampening hair, their lips meeting sloppily. Fiddleford moaned as he felt their cocks rubbing against each other. He nearly cried out as Ford brought a knee up between his legs. He would flinch everytime some of the hot water hit him, senses being overtaken by lust. He rocked his hips back and forth against Ford's leg as the other agent moved down to his neck, caressing the soft skin with smooth lips and playful bites. At the same time, Ford also lathered Fiddleford up starting with his blonde hair and moving down his body. Fiddleford could only whimper with each touch as Ford's hands ran over him down to his ankles. Ford moved him over to under the shower to rinse him off. Ford had him do the same to him, though Fiddleford's hands were much more shaky.   
"Don't be nervous. It's just me," Ford gave him a slow, tender kiss on his forehead.   
They spent the next few minutes in each other's arms, hot mouths demanding each other until the heat of the steam became too much.   
Fiddleford stood in front of the full body mirror adjusting his black tie and tucking his badge in the jacket's pocket. Ford joined his side once he managed to slip his jacket on, holding his head in his hands and groaning.   
"Here, it'll take the edge off," Fiddleford passed him a couple aspirins from his bag.   
Taking a glass of water, Ford downed them in a few seconds, Adam's apple moving up and down as he swallowed. He looked back up at Fiddleford, adjusting his glasses. Dark shadows hung under his eyes.   
"Yeesh, we might need some concealer for you," Fidds walked past him and ruffled his hair. "Now, come on. The next show at the tent starts at noon."   
"Hmph, you're lucky you're cute," Ford grumbled, following after Fiddleford.   
The Tent of Telepathy was a little ways into the woods on the outskirts of town. Fiddleford easily spotted the huge white tent peeking through the trees along with a whole line of cars that they had to drive behind to get to the field that acted as a parking lot. A brisk, October breeze wafted through their hair, and Fiddleford could feel the coldness on the tip of his nose. Several people and families were walking around them over to the tent. Fidds shrank back a bit over to Ford's side as he caught a few stares. Ford gave him a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder. He wasn't quite sure what it was about others' stares. Maybe it was the feel of eyes on him, eyes of strangers and people he didn't know. Even the eyes of the Assistant Director cut through him to his core to the point where it made him feel ill. They only ones he could stand were Ford's soft hazelnut ones. He gazed up at the symbol painted onto the tent. It was a star with an eye in the middle with the different sections colored in with pastel colors. They were a bit early for the show at noon, by half an hour to be exact. The interior was filled with several rows of pews with a center stage upfront. Ford begrudgingly handed over forty dollars for admission. They managed to grab two spots at the end near the aisle in the front row. Much excited chatter filled the air with the two agents listening intently.   
"So, what's the background on this family of psychics?" I'm guessing you've probably read the x file about what..a hundred times now?" Fiddleford joked, playfully elbowing Ford.   
Hehe..nice one, McGucket. They're known as the Gleefuls. They *ahem* claim to be able to read peoples' minds and predict things that will happen in the future. The current family members that run this show are Budd and his son Gideon. They say that these psychic abilities only choose certain family members. Gideon is the alledged psychic here. He's young. From the pictures, I'd say maybe twelve years old. The x file highlighted that there was some odd stuff happening whenever they're in town. People having weird dreams and such. So, I guess that's what we're investigating," Ford informed.   
Suddenly, the lights overhead dimmed and harsh spotlights lit up the main stage.   
"Prepare yourself, McGucket. This could just be one huge facepalm..or the real thing. You never know," Ford whispered.   
Fiddleford cracked a smile. "You're hungover. Just try not to stare at the lights too long."   
A rather tubby, middle aged man emerged from the satin curtains, wearing the Gleeful insignia like the one painted on the tent.   
"Welcome, everyone! Welcome, to Gideon's Tent of Telepathy! I hope you folks are prespared to have your minds..blown! And now, I present..Lil Gideon!"   
The crowed around them cheered as the curtains were drawn back. They squinted as even more bright lights flashed around and a tiny child with white hair that made up about another foot of his short stature stood out on stage in a baby blue suit.   
"Why, hello, friends! Did y'all come to see lil ol' me?" he spoke in a creepily cute southern drawl that made hungover Ford want to puke.   
The audience cheered and screamed as Giden began doing his little dance around stage. Cries of "He's so cute" and "I love you, Gideon" could be heard throughout the tent. "Now, now, settle down. Would anyone like me to try readin' their mind?"   
He stepped up to the front of the stage, the music turned down a bit lower. All around the two agents, people shouted, nearly begging for Gideon to pick them. Ford grumbled something under his breath, shifting his eyes towards a wall. Fiddleford looked over to his left to see a little girl hopping up and down next to him in the aisle.   
"Alright, alright. How 'bout you, little girl Let me take a guess and say you live right here in good ol' Gravity Falls, don't you?"   
"Yes, yes I do!" she gasped.   
The audience cheered as Gideon made more predictions that, as far as Fiddleford could tell, were rather obvious ones that anyone could come up with. Fidds was about to make a comment to Ford when the amulet on Gideon's bolo tie began glowing a light blue.   
"Here is my prediction for you, little girl. Today, you will meet two strangers. I..I can't really see them clearly. This vision is a bit hazy, but they will ask you questions about this town. Once's tall and skinny, the other a bit shorter. Ah, well, I'm sorry but that's all I can get right now. Must be a lil ways in the future still."   
The crowd cheered and applauded as Gideon took a bow. "Thank you, thank you, everyone."   
At this moment, Ford's gaze met with Gideon's. He furrowed his brow in annoyance as Gideon pointed directly at him. "And how about you, grumpy pants? You've been shootin daggers at me for this whole show, so what's your name?"   
"It's Stanford," Ford replied, crossing his arms. He felt like Gideon's sickingly cute sounding voice was going to drill right through his skull with his headache.   
"Well, Stanford, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say-"   
"That I"m from some sort of important organization, say, the FBI. I've no doubt you've been watching my partner and I this whole time trying to figure us out. I mean, it really isn't that hard. We're both wearing suits, and I'm sure you can see the bulge from my badge in my jacket's pocket," Ford cut him off, arrogance clear in his voice.   
However, instead of catching Gideon off guard, the kid was smiling. "Oh, look at you bein all smart. I knew you were gonna go off like that," the amulet glowed yet again. "But what would you say if I said I could name off your badge number? I mean, since it's in your pocket, there's not way I'd know as a fake, right?"   
Gideon and Ford were glaring at each other with looks that could kill. Fiddleford could do nothing, but sit nervously looking back and forth at the two.   
"Fine. Let's hear you name off my badge number. I'm waiting."   
"Oh ho, hold on there, Stanford. I must concentrate and use my psychic abilities."   
Fiddleford looked around at the audience to see all of them staring intently at Gideon. A few looked directly at the agents, causing Fidds to turn back around quickly.   
"Your badge number is.. XF10 1937."   
Ford's jaw nearly dropped. "But..that's exactly right..how?" The crowd cheered wildly.   
"Why, because I'm a psychic, agent. Nothin more, nothin less. Anyone else?"   
Hands were raised everywhere around the tent. Ford and Fiddleford gave each other concerned looks. They sat through the rest of the show with Ford burying his face in a hand as he tried to muddle through the blaring music and Gideon's voice. Once the show was over, the agents approached backstage but were promptly blocked by Budd's large form by the stairs.   
"Now, hold on there, agents. I know for sure Stanford here is FBI, but I'm still gonna need to see your badges before I let you see Gideon," he crossed his arms and looked down at the agents. There was something about his eyes Fidds didn't like.   
"Oh, of course. And I'm Agent McGucket, and this is Agent Pines." Fiddleford squeaked.   
They both flashed their badges, Budd looking intently at them. "Well, looks like you two are the real deal. Just follow me, and I'll take ya to Gideon's dressing room."   
They followed after Budd into the recesses of the backstage area. Fiddleford kept close to his partner. He still felt eyes on him, and it was unnerving.   
"If I may ask, what exactly are you two investigating?"   
"Just making sure this 'Tent of Telepathy' is what it says it is. We're having some reports of strange things happening whenever you and Gideon are in town," Ford said, keeping minimal eye contact.   
Budd said nothing further on the matter but kept peering with a strange gaze at the two of them. He left them outsdie of Gideon's room without another word.   
"Hm, what a strange guy. I think he already hates us," Ford looked over at Fiddelford with his usual kind eyes that comforted the other agent a bit.   
"Uh, yeah. He'll probably be a difficult one," Fidds muttered.   
"Hey, are you alright? You've been on edge ever since we walked into the tent. Something wrong?" he placed a hand on Fiddleford' shoulder.   
"I-I'm not sure. I just feel like there's eyes on me right now, prying eyes that are putting me on edge. I-I-I'm scared," his voice warbled a bit as he began shaking.   
With no hesitation, Ford wrapped his arms around him tightly. "It's okay. I'm with you, and we'll be out of here soon," Ford lovingly whispered in his ear. Fiddleford nodded, crossing his arms as they separated.   
"Well, hello there, agents. Thought you two might stop by to see lil ol' me," Gideon greeted them, sitting in front of a lit up vanity mirror.   
He gestured over to a couch close by. "Take a seat. And fire away with your questions."   
Ford gave Fidds a quick reassuring poke with his elbow as he saw he was still shaking. "So, how long have you and Budd been in Gravity Falls?"   
"Oh, about a week now. We usually stay in town for a few weeks or a month even before movin' on."   
"Mmhmm. Also, I noticed whenver you were about to make a rather precise prediction, like my badge number, that amulet in that bolo tie of yours would light up. Care to explain?" he got right down to what he wanted to know. He noticed that the glowing amulet had been affecting Fiddleford everytime it lit up during the show.   
"Oh ho ho. I see my amulet has caught your eye. I can assure you it's just for show, just to amaze the audience and add to the show. I promise on my lil heart."   
Ford gritted his teeth. He could tell Gideon was obviously lying. It was a hint in the tone of his voice that most liars Ford came across had.   
"I see.." was all he could say.   
"Aw, Standford, still shooting daggers at me. Do you really suspect lil ol' me of 'suspicious activity?'"   
"I'm not sure yet, but I'm going to figure this out. I know you're hiding something. I can tell because it's scaring my partner half to death," he pointed to Fiddleford who was shaking and muttering things under his breath. "I do have more questions, but my main concern right now is him. I need to get him out of here to the outside," Ford began helping Fiddleford to his feet. He handed Gideon his card. "This has my number on it. Should you feel the need to call me." He guided Fiddleford over to the door but was stopped by Gideon's voice.   
"How about dinner tonight then? Your partner is invited if he feels well enough. How about the pizza joint by the arcade? Say around 8?"   
"Fine by me," was all Ford said before he led Fidds out.   
He heard Gideon chuckle a bit as the door closed behind them. They were met with a strong autumn gust as they made it outside. It wafted across their faces, sending little needle like pin pricks of coldness into their skin. Ford sat Fiddleford down on the hood of the car, his light weight only bouncing it a little bit. He knelt in front of him, stroking his face with a tender touch.   
"How are you feeling now that we're back outside?" Ford asked softly.   
"B-better..I think. Um, thanks for being so concerned about me," Fiddleford gazed up into those oh so familiar gentle eyes.   
Ford rested his forehead against Fiddleford's, gently stroking his cheek with a thumb. He could feel Ford's bangs brush against his skin lightly. The bit of pressure from Ford's head against his created a calming sensation.   
"We're going to figure this out, just like the last case. And I promise I'll do a better job of protecting you when you need it."   
Ford's voice was so gentle and concerned, Fiddleford couldn't help but blush as the leaves blew around them.


	5. The Weights We Carry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I got this one done super fast, so enjoy the hurt! ^^

Ford carried a still shaking Fiddleford over to the bed on the right. He gingerly tucked him in, stroking six fingers through the blonde hair and humming softly. Ford waited until the other agent's shaking had mostly subsided and his breathing regulated. As Ford got up to leave, seeing that early evening was beginning to set in, Fidds grabbed onto the hand that had been stroking his face.   
"Wait, Stanford! Please, I can go with you..I-" he suddenly stopped as Ford kissed his hand softly.   
"I'll be fine. What's most important right now is that you get some rest. I'll come back for you after my meeting with Gideon, alright? And I'll have my phone with me in case you need to get a hold of me or if I run into some trouble. Your well being is more important right now. So, I'll see you in a bit, McGucket," Ford kissed his hand once more before heading for the door.   
Fidds blushed as he could still feel Ford's lips on his hand. He held it close as he closed his eyes and felt his mind drift off.   
Agent Pines shivered a bit as the brisk wind blew through him. Even though he'd spent most of the afternoon comforting Fiddleford, he still had some time before meeting with Gideon. He perused around town a bit though it wasn't long before cloudy weather from earlier worsened as grey clouds rolled in and another storm brewed. Ford could hear the low rumbling approaching and a few drops of rain hit his nose. A few lightning strikes created stark contrasts of light and dark around town. He ran over to a nearby diner before the downpour began. As he gazed out the window, his first thoughts went to Fiddleford. He pulled out his phone but found the battery was dead. "Strange, I could've sworn this thing was fully charged when I left the motel.."   
"Ah, hello there, Mr. FBI Agent!" a voice broke through his thoughts. A young woman around his age stood in front of him with light brown hair and a yellow dress. "Wow, started storming all of a sudden. Well, would you like to take a seat at the bar or a table maybe?"   
Ford glanced at his watch, which read 7:30. "Sure, the bar's fine with me. If it's alright with you, could I ask you a few questions about Gideon and Budd Gleeful? My partner and I are investigating the Tent of Telepathy, though it's just me right now." he showed her his badge while talking.   
"Oh, of course! There have been a few strange things happening since they arrived here," she said while pouring some piping hot coffee into a mug for Ford.   
Ford took a sip before starting, "Alright, so what about these strange occurrences?"   
"Well, for one, a bunch of money from the bank has gone missing a few days ago. It was all from a safe that had been locked down tight and showed no signs of a break in. One of the employees reported not remembering anything that night. But nobody knows what happened for sure. There's also been a lot of people reporting lost time and foggy memories. I think that's about it for the unusual stuff. I saw you and your partner at the show today. You're pretty bold, aren't you?"   
"I just know a hoax when I see one. Though, from what you've told me, it may not be as fake as I originally thought."   
Ford continued to chat with Susan about Gravity Falls and all about the history of the town and everything.   
"Oh, and you'll have to check out the Mystery Shack out on Gopher's Road. It's one of those tourist trap places, but it's a riot."   
"Mystery Shack, huh? Yeah, maybe Agent McGucket and I will check it out once we have this case wrapped up." Ford took his last sip and glanced at his watch again. "Yikes! Five minutes to the meeting time. I better head out. Thank you, Miss Susan for being so cooperative! Have a good rest of your night!" he quickly began walking toward the exit with the storm still raging outside.   
"No problem, Agent Pines! Stay dry out there!"   
As Ford sprinted over to the pizza place by the arcade, he couldn't help but worry about Fiddleford. He knew how storms scared him, but he tried to push it into the back of his mind. "The job comes first. The job comes first."   
Through his dripping wet glasses, he spotted the restaurant's lit up sign like a beacon guiding him through the dark. He was already soaking wet by the time he ran in, his glasses instantly fogging up.   
"Well, hello there, Agent Pines! Over here," the disgustingly cute voice set him on edge as he spotted Gideon's blurry figure at a booth to the right since he was still wiping off his glasses. He placed them back on his face and reluctantly sat down in the seat facing Gideon.   
"Glad you could show up, Agent. I was beginning to think you got cold feet. Tee hee."   
"Yeah, well, it's important to the investigation. McGucket would have my head if I skipped out on this," Ford groaned. It took him a bit to answer Gideon. He was still worried about Fiddleford and hoping he was still asleep.   
"Hmm..where is your partner? Poor guy seemed quite traumatized when I saw him. And what about you? Your mind seems to be elsewhere, Stanford."   
Ford looked directly at Gideon. "He's sleeping right now, and I'm fine. Now, what did you want to talk about?"   
"Oh, I just want to show you that I'm not a fake. I'm the real deal. Take a gander at this," Gideon pulled off his bolo tie and held it up to Ford, showing a blue amulet in it. "This amulet is the source of my abilities. I can even lift people up with enough power. I'll prove it. It says you're thinking about your dear lil partner and his fear of storms, right?"   
Ford gritted his teeth. "Okay, maybe you're not as much of a hoax as I thought you were, but I'm onto you and your dad. I know with that amulet, you've been robbing this town and once I prove it, you two are done," Ford slammed a fist on the table and almost stood straight up. Gideon only chuckled, "My, my, you really are a tenacious agent, aren't ya? I'd like to see ya try, Pines." 

A booming crack of thunder woke Fiddleford from a dead sleep. He screamed as a flash of lightning illuminated the room briefly.   
"Stanford. Stanford!" he desperately shouted but was answered by silence. "Oh, duh. He went out to meet with Gideon."   
As Fiddleford got up, already a bit shaky, he noticed Ford's trench coat draped over the desk chair. "It's raining like crazy out there. He'll need that coat," he thought as he dialed Ford's number. However, he was instantly directed to his voicemail.   
"Pines, it's McGucket. I'm sure you're meeting with Gideon right now, but it's storming, and you forgot your trench coat. Even though I'm scared, I'm still going to call a cab and help you out with the case. I have to. Be there soon."   
He hung up and then promptly called a cab. He waited in the room's doorway, shaking like crazy and wincing at every flash of light. The wind blew in gusts, creating an eerie chorus of creaking trees and rustling leaves. He held Ford's trench coat close to him and found the inside of it smelled like Ford. He took deep inhales while trying nt to tear up as the storm raged. He tried to imagine feeling Ford's skin, his hands running through his hair. The headlights from the cab snapped him out of it. He continued to hold it close as they drove into town. The rain whipped around him as he approached the pizza place. Though with another roll of thunder, he began thinking, "Why did I do this? Why did I come out here? He'll be back, but he needs his coat..maybe I'm just being silly, or maybe I just wanted to see him..What have I gotten myself into..I'm..not special. Who am I kidding? He's too good for me.."   
His lip quivered and a few tears ran down his face. As a strong gust nearly knocked him off his feet, two huge arms wrapped around him and grabbed him from behind and pulled him by the nearby alley. He managed to knock one of the arms off of him as he pulled his gun out and yelled as he slapped the attacker straight across the face with the barrel. They cried out and let go of Fiddleford, making him fall back on the ground. He fumbled the gun with shaky hands but was met with a sharp kick to the face, knocking his round glasses off his face, which landed near the trench coat by the outside of the alley. He shakily picked himself up to see Budd towering over him.   
"B-Budd..what?"   
"You're gonna pay for that, nosy agent."   
He swung a quick punch that connected with a dazed Fiddleford's cheek,making him fall back onto the ground with a grunt. He desperately crawled towards his gun but was kicked right in his stomach. He coughed and gagged as he was kicked over and over again. By the fifth kick, he was coughing up blood, some of it splattering onto the coat.   
"Please..stop," he sputtered.   
Budd grabbed a fistful of his hair, picked him up, and slammed him against a wall. "Can't have you ruinin' Gideon's plans..now, nighty night!"   
He smacked Fiddleford's skull against the wall with a hard crack. The last thing Fiddleford saw with wavering eyes was Budd's blurry figure gazing down at him with wild eyes before he slipped out of consciousness. 

Ford stormed out into the rain, tired of hearing Gideon's taunting. He started stomping off toward the car in frustration when he spotted something by the alley out of the corner of his eye. "Hey..that's...my trench coat?" He grabbed it and spotted a red stain on it, his heart beat quickening. It nearly stopped as his eyes scanned the ground and spotted a pair of black, round glasses. His hands shook as he picked them up. It felt like there was a bullet in his chest, ever so slowly burrowing its way closer to his heart. "Fidds..no..you tried bringing me my jacket." He bit his lip as his hair and clothes got soaked through by the pouring rain. He slipped the trench coat on and put Fidds' glasses ever so carefully in the front pocket. He sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him over to his car and slammed on the gas and squealed the tires as he headed towards the police station. His mind was going everywhere at once but mostly to the worst case scenarios. He burst in, slamming his badge into an officer's face.   
"I'm a federal agent, and this is urgent. My partner was just abducted in an alley by the arcade. I need people out helping me look for him right now," Ford tried to speak as calmly as he could but his voice was still strained as he fought back tears.   
"Now, hold on, Agent. Can you just calm down and tell us what happened?"   
"There's no time! Hell, he could be dead right now. I have to find him, in short, his name is Agent McGucket. He's tall and skinny, dirty blonde hair, suit on like mine. Just set cruisers out looking for him. I'm going to go search myself," Ford snapped and stomped off back to his car. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. "I shouldn't have left him alone. Fuck." Ford's desperate search of driving around all over town in the rain went on for about an hour before he had to pull over on the side of the road and just breathe. "I don't get it. Where could they have possibly taken him? I'm supposed to be smart, dammit. I can't even find my own partner." A few sobs wracked his body as his determination and hope diminished. The resounding thunder was ony worsening it. It sounded like even nature itself was mocking him. "Shut up!" he shouted to nothing. As he fixed his glasses, he saw a bunch of signs with "Mystery Shack" all over them. "Well, I haven't asked whoever runs that place if they've seen anything yet." Ford sniffled as he drove through the winding driveway through the dark forest to a small, wooden house labeled the Mystery Shack in huge letters on the roof. He clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to compose himself as he walked up to the porch and knocked on the door.   
"Hold on, I'll be right there!" an oddly familiar voice to Ford echoed from somewhere in the house. "Who's there" the voice was right outside the door now.   
"Um, a federal agent. Please, it's urgent," Ford tried his best to not sound like he had just been crying.   
After what sounded like a multitude of locks, the door finally opened to reveal a man that looked exactly like Ford, though a bit pudgier and with short, shaggy hair.   
"Wha-you? I-It can't be," Ford nearly jumped back in surprise. "St-Stanley?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.   
"Stanford! Wow..it's-it's really you. I heard that there were a couple of FBI agents in town, but I didn't think you'd be on an investigation here," Stan smiled at him, opening the door wider.   
Without hesitation, Ford embraced him in a tight hug. "You're just the hope I needed right now. I mean, I haven't seen you since dad kicked you out, since senior year of high school. So, you've been running this place?"   
"Yeah. Things were rough at first. I was homeless and living out of my car for a while, but through a lot of finagling, I managed to get this place, and now it's the Mystery Shack. Man, I have so many questions for you, but judging by the look on your face, something bad happened, didn't it?" Stan gave him a concerned look, keeping a hand on his shoulder.   
"It's my partner. He got abducted, and I'm pretty sure the Gleefuls are responsible. I've spent the past hour trying to find him, but it's been unsuccessful. I'm so worried about him. I found a bit of I'm guessing his blood on my coat, and I..I just feel so useless. I can't even save my own partner," Ford nearly broke down again.   
"The Gleefuls, huh? That reminds me that I was driving back over here earlier and saw stupid Budd and his oh so talented son driving toward the old abandoned church on the outskirts of town. Maybe, just maybe, they took your partner over there."   
Ford's face lit up. "You're certain of this??"   
"Yup, pretty damn sure. I could never forget those creepy Gleefuls."   
Ford hugged him once more. "Thank you. Thank you so much! I promise we can catch up later. I need to go save him before it's too late," Ford began hopping down the stairs and running over to his car.   
"Hey, wait up! Do you need any help? You know, like back up or something?" Stan cupped his hands to his mouth, trying to project his voice through the rain.   
"Do what you want. I'm not stopping you if you want to follow me, but I need to go now!" Ford shouted back before hopping in and speeding down the slick dirt road toward the direction Stan pointed the old church in.   
The rain made it difficult to see the road, but still he pressed on, nearly ramming into a tree as he pulled into the abandoned church's lot. He loaded his gun as he carefully approached the old building. It was eerily silent as he trudged through the grass. Oddly enough, the rain had suddenly let up, now falling in misty sprinkles. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he walked through the open front doors. Once he was a little ways inside, he stopped and strained his ears, listening for any tiny sound. After a few seconds, he heard the softest whimper like someone was trying not to cry but couldn't help but let a few pained noises out. It was swiftly followed by a sharp hit with a shoe. "What happened to keeping him quiet, daddy?" "I thought I told you to not make a sound"   
A feeling of disgust filled his gut as he held his gun in front of him and ran up the stairs as silently as possible. As soon as he entered the doorway where he heard voices, he raised his gun and his voice. "Freeze! Federal agent!"  
His grip tightened on the gun as he saw Fidds lying on the floor, holding his stomach and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Instead of looks of surprise, Budd and Gideon smirked at Ford.   
"Well, it's about time you got here, Stanford. I was beginning to think you would never find us. You must be one damn good agent," Gideon held a hand up to his bolo tie.   
"And I said put your hands up, or I'll be forced to shoot," Ford began walking toward them.   
"Now, now, no need for that! You see, I have a better idea. How about this?"   
Gideon's amulet began glowing blue, emitting a strange wind that forced Ford back a bit. He chanted some sort of spell, causing Fiddleford to be encased in a sphere of blue light. It lifted him up into the air. Budd was slowly walking over to Ford as the agent was distracted by the spell. Just as he was about to deck Ford, Stan jumped out from the stair well, tackling Budd to the ground. His golden brass knuckles shined from the light of the amulet.   
"Not today, Gleeful!" They brawled as Ford approached Fidds who was now floating in the middle of the room. He gasped as Fiddleford began screaming like he was in major pain. He kept shouting "no" and "stop" over and over again. To Fiddleford, the spell was forcing horrible memories to resurface. He felt all his fears at once: the eyes and everything. All of his doubts of himself and every relationship flashed in his mind, causing him to cringe and cry out even more.   
"Fidds! Please, what's wrong?" Ford shouted desperately, trying to get as close as possible.   
"Nightmares, fears, ah...everything," Fiddleford managed to blurt out.   
"Please, you have to try to remember the good memories. Think of all the ones we've had together so far. Fidds, please. I know bad things happen, but I'm here to save you because I love you. I know you'd say it's still too soon to say that, but that's just how I feel. So, please, Fidds, try to fight it."   
Fiddleford cracked open one eye, looking down at Ford. "I..I can't!" his screams were even more terrified now. Ford peered over at Gideon. He was frozen there, eyes glowing blue, but he noticed the bolo tie was missing.   
"Where's the amulet?" Ford asked himself and looked up to see it floating above Fiddleford. Blood began gushing from Fidds' eyes and ears as he went into convulsions. His body shook violently and moved like a rag doll. Ford gritted his teeth, trying to block out the screams and carefully aiming his gun right at the floating amulet. "Please...for Fiddleford," was his last thought before a lone shot fired.   
The bullet flew right through the amulet, causing the crystalline structure to shatter. At the same time, Stan promptly knocked Budd out, nearly dislodging a tooth with the brass knuckles. Fiddleford immediately fell to the ground, his limbs limp and unmoving. Ford ran over to him, dropping the gun by his side and cradled Fiddleford in his arms. He was breathing with eyes open; however, he was unresponsive and shivering. Ford held him close, whispering to him and kissing his forehead. After about a minute, the shivering stopped and the usual glisten and light returned to Fiddleford's eyes.   
"Stanford..is that you?" he coughed.   
"Yes, yes. It's me. You're safe now, Fidds. You're safe," Ford said, keeping the tears back. "Do you remember anything that happened?"   
"N-no. It's all quite hazy. After that spell, I can't really recall anything. A few shapes but that's it," Fiddleford mumbled, groaning when he tried to move.   
"Don't try to move right now. It's alright. I'll carry you out of here."   
Ford was interrupted by Stan suddenly shouting, "Ford, look out! He's heading your way!" Stan grunted as Budd kicked him in the knee and began barreling towards the two agents. "I'm not gonna let y'all federal agents stop us!"   
Out of instinct, Ford grabbed the gun by his side and shot Budd right in the left thigh, causing the huge man to topple over as his legs collapsed under him.   
"Hehe, nice shot!" Stan flashed a thumbs up.   
They glanced over at Gideon to see him passed out on the floor probably from the amulet being destroyed during the spell.   
Ford turned his attention back to Fiddleford as he felt him grab onto his coat. "Ford, if you don't want to be with me. You can tell me," he muttered.   
"What? What on earth are you talking about?"   
"I know I'm nothing special. Compared to you, I'm just a useless nobody that gets scared at everything, even my own shadow sometimes. I don't deserve you," Fiddleford's voice was beginning to shake.   
"Fidds, you should know that I'm not that great. I always act like the smart guy, but deep down, I'm just like you. I was so scared I wasn't going to be able to find you, that well, I broke down. You're braver than you know. I mean, you went out in the storm just to bring me my coat. I know that took a lot of determination. You're insightful, smart, and hot. I love you so much," Ford said sweetly, leaving a light peck on Fiddleford's cheek.   
"Stanford..thank you."   
Their lips met as Ford held him and never wanted to let go.


	6. We Hold Each Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh these two are so cute and fun to write!! enjoy the new chapter! Also, I'm gonna start doing a thing where I recommend a song that goes well with the chapter, so for this one, I recommend the song whose title I'm using for this chapter title: Hold Each Other by A Great Big World ^^

Fiddleford began coughing and wheezing violently, lightly pushing Ford away. "Why..why does it hurt to breathe?"   
Stan knelt by him and gently ran his fingers over his rib cage area. He felt two odd areas and from Fiddleford's shallow breathing, he knew exactly what was wrong.   
"Broken ribs in two places. We better get him to the ER," Stan informed.   
"I'll call the authorities, and tell them to bring an ambulance too. We have a few injured individuals," Ford glanced over to the Gleefuls.   
Stan held a shivering Fiddleford in his arms as Ford made the call. As soon as he hung up, they heard a strange noise echo through the old church. It was indiscernible at first, but slowly changed to some sort of wild laughter.   
"Um, okay, this is creepy. Let's go outside and let the paramedics handle getting those two out of here."   
Stan nodded and followed Ford outside, watching where he stepped as he carried Fiddleford.   
"Hey, I should keep you talking so you don't pass out. How's your pain level right now?" Stan asked.   
"It's..Ah, it's pretty bad. I can only take shallow breaths."   
"Yeah, rib fractures can be a pain, and they take a while to heal. Good news is you won't have to be hospitalized for it."   
Fiddleford managed a weak smile, wincing when he tried to move. It didn't take long for the church to be surrounded by red and blue lights.   
"Yeah, Budd and Gideon nearly killed my partner. They're up there on the second floor now. I'll talk more on what they've been doing later. My partner is injured, and I need to get him to a doctor. Here's my card..call me later tonight or in the morning or whatever. I'm sorry, but my partner's health and well being is more important right now," Ford nodded to the officers before running over to the car.   
Stan pulled up his car next to Ford's. "Follow me. There's a small ER in town. I'll take you there."   
Ford gave him a thumbs u before they drove off into the night. Fiddleford winced and whimpered with each bump they hit. "I'm sorry, Fiddleford. We're almost there." Fiddleford tried to focus on something other than the pain coursing through his chest. He kept his gaze out the window, watching the shadows of trees pass by.   
"Oh, I almost forgot," Ford pulled out Fiddleford's glasses from his front coat pocket before picking him up and walking with Stan into the ER.   
Ford tapped his fingers nervously as the doctor examined Fiddleford, gently pressing on his chest with the stethoscope and listening to his breathing.   
"So, what's the word, doc? Fractured ribs, right?"   
"Yup, in two places. I'm going to prescribe him some medication for pain, but that's really all I can do. For a while, it'll be painful for him to take deep breaths. Because of this, he might be light headed. Make sure he coughs and tries to take as deep breaths as he can so he doesn't risk a lung collapsing. He should do this every hour or so. Don't wrap up the fractures at tall. They just need to heal on their own. He's an FBI agent, right? Have him rest for a good few days before moving around much. And that should be about it."   
"Thank you, Doctor. We'll take good care of him," Ford assured.   
"I've given him a small dosage of pain killers to make him more comfortable. And here's the slip to get it at the pharmacy. Best to do that tonight. The ones I gave him will last for a few hours, but trust me, he's going to want those meds."   
They both thanked the doctor once more and helped Fiddleford back to the car. He managed to walk as he leaned against Ford and held an arm by his rib cage. The once sharp pains were now a dull ache, but it still hurt to breathe normally.   
"Here, gimme that slip of paper. I'll grab the medicine. How about you take him over to the Mystery Shack. You two can stay with me. That way, when you're our finishing the investigation, I can keep an eye on him."   
Ford smiled at Stan. "Thanks, Stanley. We'll be waiting for you."   
"Have him take my bed in the bedroom upstairs," Stan shouted before driving off.   
Fiddleford's eyes were heavy with exhaustion as he watched the passing street lights and then darkness as Ford drove up the dirt road to the Mystery Shack.   
"Here, I'll carry you inside if you want," Ford offered a hand.   
Fiddleford pressed up close against him as Ford held him. "St-Stanford," Fiddleford whispered.   
"Yeah?" he asked as he kicked the door open with his foot.   
"What did I do to deserve you? You're so strong and nice, and I'm so insecure and unsure of myself. The only reason this happened was because I went out into the storm just to give you your coat. I'm just..sto stupid."   
"You know, I may seem strong and confident, but I'm really not. I'm weak, Fidds, and I need you. Bad things happen. That's all I can say. I mean, we can't predict these things. If anything, I don't deserve you."   
They reached the top of the old, creaky stairs, and Ford slowly let Fiddleford down onto the twin sized bed. He carefully slipped his shoes and suit jacket off, unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt and untucking it, and lastly slipping off his glasses.   
"Need anything? A glass of water maybe?" Ford asked, lightly stroking his face.   
"I-I could use some water and maybe some saltines or something," Fiddleford blushed a bit.   
"You got it. Stan should be back soon with the meds. Be right back."   
It took Ford a bit to find things in the kitchen. The way Stan organized food and items was atrocious and confusing.   
"Who puts crackers under the sink??"   
Once he helped Fiddleford drink some water, he heard Stan stomp into the shack.   
"I'll be back in a bit, okay?" he kissed Fiddleford's forehead before heading downstairs.   
"So, how's he doin?" Stan plopped a plastic bag down on the table and sat down on the couch.   
"He's fine for now. Got him some crackers and a glass of water," Ford replied, sitting next to him.   
"Man, what a wild way for us to meet again, huh?"   
"Yeah, I honestly didn't expect to find you here. I've been so obsessed with my work with the x files that, and I don't mean to sound like a horrible brother, but I guess I just never thought about seeing you again, but I'm glad. I really have missed you."   
Stan and Ford began talking, Stan telling him about his life after he was kicked out and his escapades. Ford told him about going to college and his studying chemistry and astronomy as well as some astrophysics.   
"I double majored, then went onto the FBI Academy. For all my studies in science, the supernatural always interested me. I mean, hell, my hands are something out of the ordinary. I knew about the FBI having files on supernatural and extraterrestrial cases known as the x files, so that's why I decided to become a federal agent. Of course, I'm somewhat of a joke to most at HQ for obvious reasons. I went through a ton of partners. Most hated me or couldn't take me seriously, or a lot would chastise me for my extra fingers. But..Fiddleford was different. He's nice and kind and soft spoken. He's a skeptic on this alien and supernatural stuff for sure, but he listens when I tell him about the x files. He inspires me really." Ford blushed talking about him.   
"Well, sounds like a guy I'd approve of. I'm happy for you, sixer."   
They spent a few more hours reminiscing childhood memories like building the Stan O' War and all their adventures. Stan asked more on Ford's time at the Academy and how he got so "badass."   
"So, where are you going to sleep?"   
"Meh, I'll crash it on the couch. It's comfy enough. If you wanna stick by his side through the night, there's a chair in the bedroom."   
"Yeah, I think I'll do that, then. Well, I'm sure we'll have much more catching up to do tomorrow, but I'm beat so I'll head upstairs. Goodnight, Stanley!"   
He waved as he trudged up the stairs over to Fiddleford. When he walked into the darkened room lit by a lone night light that illuminated the room in a soft glow, Fiddleford was fast asleep, lying on his side and facing toward the wall. His breathing was shallow as his lungs could only fill so much before the broken ribs deterred them. Ford pulled up the lone rocking chair and laid back just watching Fidds to make sure he was sleeping soundly. Eventually, his eyes felt heavy and his mind drifted off into sleep. Ford woke up once, early in the morning to give Fiddleford another dose of pain meds. Fidds groaned as he woke up and turned onto his other side to face Ford. The other agent was moving around in the chair in obvious discomfort.   
"Hey," Fidds outstrethed a hand to Ford's knee. "Wanna join me in this bed? You look pretty uncomfortable," he smiled weakly at Ford.   
"I don't know. The bed's a twin size, and I don't want to hurt you by pressing on one of the fractures, and-"   
"I trust you. So, please.." Fiddleford gave his knee a squeeze.   
Ford already had his shoes and everything besides his shirt and pants off. He slid into bed next to Fiddleford ever so gently. Fidds cuddled close to him, the size of the bed forcing them together. Ford slipped an arm around Fiddleford's waist, being cautious of his stomach area and pulled him close. Both of them fell back asleep in the warmth of each other.   
Stan knocked on the door and entered the room about half an hour later. "Hey, I-" He abruptly stopped when he saw them cuddled up to each other. They looked so peaceful lying there in the morning light. "Yeah, you go, Ford." he whispered before leaving the room to let them sleep.   
"Hey, Stan," Ford said while running down the stairs and fixing his tie.   
Woah, what's the rush?" Stan asked, emerging from the kitchen.   
"My phone's been blowing up. I have to head over to the police station to square things away with this case. Can you watch Fiddleford while I'm gone? I expect this'll probably be an all day thing. They say the Gleefuls confessed to robbing the town's bank along with various other crimes. But they still need me."   
"Sure thing. I mean, I've had my fair share of broken ribs, so he'll be in good hands," Stan reassured, giving Ford a thumbs up.   
"Thanks! I'll be back this evening!" Ford stormed off into the sunny autumn day.   
Stan peeked out from the kitchen when he heard some light, timid footsteps going down the stairs. "Hey, Fiddleford! Take a seat on the couch in the living room. I'll have breakfast ready in just a second!"   
Stan's booming voice took Fiddleford by surprise. "Oh, alright," he replied meekly.   
Just walking down the stairs to the living room was a chore. By the time he made it to the couch, he was nearly hyperventilating with only being able to breathe in so much. He grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it tightly against his chest, slowly calming his breathing.   
"Still having trouble with breathing?" Stan entered the room with two plates with piping hot eggs and bacon.   
"Y-yeah, but I'm muddling through I guess," Fidds coughed a bit, groaning and clutching at this stomach. "Not to mention this giant bruise on my stomach that's super sore."   
"Well, I've had my fair share of broken ribs. Here, this should help with taking deep breaths easier," Stan gently guided him to lay on his side where the fractures were. He moved the pillow under Fiddleford's head. With the new pressure on the fractures, Fidds found that he could breathe much easier. "There ya go, better?"   
"Much better..thanks!" Fiddleford grinned at him.   
"Ah, now let's see if there's any good crap on TV. Oh and that plate's for you." Stan pushed the steaming plate over to Fiddleford.   
They spent the time eating and Stan asking Fiddleford a lot of questions on how he became a federal agent and stuff he's into. They chatted on a whole bunch of different subjects.   
"You know, I have to thank you," Stan said suddenly.   
"For what?"   
"For being there for Ford. He can be pretty wreckless on his own. You two make a good pair, and I couldn't ask for anyone better for my brother," Stan replied genuinely.   
"I've never met anyone like him..well besides you. You two are the nicest people I've ever met. So, thanks for that," Fiddleford sniffled a bit.   
Fiddleford stayed on the couch for most of the day with Stan giving him the meds when needed. He'd rub Fiddleford's back whenever he had a coughing fit or had trouble breathing. He left Fidds alone for a bit and returned with a suit on. "I gotta go run the Mystery Shack. Just holler if you need anything." 

Ford was already in a sour mood form having to leave Stan and Fiddleford, but it only worsened when he had handcuffed Budd and Gideon going on and on about the amulet manipulating them and made them do things. Ford slammed his hands on the table.   
"Alright, that's enough! You know, I'd really like to believe you but unfortunately, there isn't any evidence to support your claims. The amulet is destroyed and as far as I can tell, you two committed multiple robberies and embezzlements across the country. Not to mention assault on my partner. I'm going to make sure the two of you are put away for a long time. Well, at least you, Budd. Gideon is still a child after all.   
"Hey, Agent Pines!" an officer ran up to him. "You were right. We found a ton of cash and stolen items in their tent."   
"Nice work, officers."   
"You fool," Gideon muttered.   
"What was that?" Ford gazed down at him with a condescending look.   
"There's something much more sinister here than my daddy and I robbing towns. The amulet showed me, and this entity has its eye on you. And once it has its eye on you, it doesn't let you go."   
Ford knelt down to Gideon's level. "Is this thing what's been bothering McGucket? Answer me."   
"Tee hee, sorry Agent. I'm exercising my right to remain silent."   
Ford gritted his teeth and tried to resist the urge to sock him one.   
"Let's go wrap the rest of the last minute things here. Get these two out of my sight."   
Ford glanced back just once to see Gideon making a throat slitting motion. "Creepy ass kid," he shrugged it off.   
The rest of the day was spent running here and there going to the places that had gotten robbed and taking statements and interviewing people and witnesses to help Fiddleford with the field report.   
It was around dusk when he was finally driving back to the shack. The sky was deep shades of gray and indigo. The sun had already fallen below the tree line, creating a dark landscape. As he was driving along, the headlights began to flicker and fade and the engine sputtered. "Ugh..not now.." Ford pulled the car over under a lone streetlight. Once stopped, it sputtered a bit and finally died completely. "Great. I know nothing about cars," he groaned. "I'll just call Fidds and ask him to tell Stan to come and get me and-" Ford glanced down at his phone, pressing buttons but getting nothing but a blank screen. "What?? Dad again? What's with this town?" Ford's voice cracked as he shouted at his phone.   
"Hehe," a disembodied laugh resounded in his ears.   
He gasped a turned his head around wildly. "Who's there?" Ford looked over to the passenger side of the car to see a faint glowing blue trail going through the woods. He bit his lip, curiosity getting the better of him. He checked on the gun in its holster.   
"I'll just..follow it for a little bit. Not like I can go anywhere in this thing anyway," Ford muttered to himself as he walked toward the mysterious trail from the car. The darkness of oncoming night pressed in around him. He kept his flash light handy in case he lost the trail. It brought him into a small clearing that overlooked the sky. The trail branched out and formed a circle in the middle of the clearing. Ford walk to the center, teeth chattering and shivering a bit at the coldness of the night. He felt like there was something there. The air was heavy here like there was a thick blanket wrapping itself closer and closer to him. Even with the chill, Ford felt a cold sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck. All the hairs on his arms and neck stood up, his sense on high alert.   
"H-hello?" he asked, clearing his throat.   
"Well, hello there, Federal Agent Stanford Pines!" a strange, demonic sounding voice spoke, coming from everywhere at once.   
Ford braced himself as a strong gust started. Watching in horror, a giant triangular shape formed above him in the middle of the clearing. A gigantic red eye with a diamond slit pupil gazed into his eyes. The rest was a glowing, ash colored triangle.   
"Wh-what? Are you an..alien?" Ford didn't know what else to think. It looked like a strange UFO to him.   
"Haha! Well, I guess I technically am. You FBI agents have been quite entertaining to watch. When your shaky, perceptive little partner got the candy knocked out of him, hoho, my sides hurt. I'm laughing just thinking about it!" the red eye upturned into some sort of smile.   
Ford didn't know what to say. There were so many things, but it felt like they were all caught in his throat.   
"Hmm, cat got your tonue, huh? No matter, I just wanted to say hi and welcome to Gravity Falls. I'm sure we'll meet again real soon, and bring your partner next time. See ya, sixer!"   
As soon as the entity had been there staring down at him, it disappeared along with the blue trail. Ford fell to the ground, feeling like he'd just been let go from an intense grip. He clutched at his chest and tried to regulate his breathing. He trudged through the woods with the flashlight, still feeling the lingering sensations of the entity's gaze. "What in the hell was that thing?"   
Oddly enough, the car started up just fine now. Ford drove as quickly as he could over to the Mystery Shack, trying to shake the thoughts of that living nightmare.   
Stan and Fiddleford were sitting at the small dining room table by the kitchen when Ford burst in. He still breathed hard as he sat by them.   
"Ugh, everything alright?" Stan asked.   
"I think I just had an alien encounter and not a pleasant one. Phew, that was scary. Oh, and I got statements and interviews from all those robbed and all that for your report," Ford passed a folder over to Fiddleford.   
"So, what? Are you just not gonna tell us about this alien encounter?" Stan leaned on the table, causing it to creak.   
Ford took a deep breath. "Basically, it was this gigantic demonic triangle that talked to me saying it's been watching Fiddleford and I, and it had plans for us or something. I don't know..it was just terrifying. I felt so small and weak in its presence."   
Fiddleford placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright now, Stanford. You're safe here."   
"Yeah, I'll sock that thing in the eye if it tries to hurt either of you," Stan added.   
"Hehe, thanks you two."   
They all chatted for a while in the warmth of the Mystery Shack before Fiddleford and Ford headed up to bed. Ford helped Fiddleford slip off his clothes down to a t-shirt and underwear and gently tucked him in. Ford stripped down to his tanktop undershirt and boxers and climbed into bed with him, holding Fidds close to him. He felt Fiddleford slide a hand up to play with his hair. Blue eyes met brown ones as their lips inched closer and closer. They kissed deep and tenderly, both thirsting for each other. Fiddleoford gripped Ford's hair with both hands, deepening the kiss. Ford moaned as he felt Fidds rubbing up against him, and he accidentally gripped onto the other man's side. Fidds broke the kiss suddenly, wincing in pain.   
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Fidds," Ford immediately moved his hand down to Fiddleford's hip. He was on the verge of tears seeing the pain on Fidds' face.   
"It's..it's okay, Stanford. It only hurt for a second. I know you'd never hurt me on purpose," Fidds reassured. He stroked his fingers methodically through Ford's hair.   
"I don't know..maybe we should stop for the ni-"   
Fiddleford's lips promptly cut him off as he pressed his mouth hungrily against Ford's. Ford kept his hand on Fidds' hip to grip there. Fiddleford loved the feel of Ford's soft lips and the sound of each smack as they parted and came together again. They kept the makeout deep and slow, keeping tongue to a minimum as they nestled against each other.   
"Are you able to lie on your other side so your back's to me?" Ford asked out of nowhere.   
"Oh, um, yeah. I can," Fidds said, a bit confused.   
He slowly rolled over and backed up against Ford. He shuttered as he felt Ford's six fingers glide ever so lightly up his t-shirt and gingerly stroking his belly.   
"St-Stanford," he moaned quietly.   
Ford continued to stroke his tummy as Fidds melted with each stroke. He scooted back against Ford until he could feel the other man's crotch against his ass. Ford was careful not to press down, keeping the touch light. He smiled as Fidds moaned, and Ford nestled his head by Fidds' neck, landing tiny pecks by his ear and down to his shoulder. Fiddleford was nearly in tears. Ford's touch was so gentle, and it reminded him of how kind he was.   
"I love you so much," Ford whispered in his ear, causing Fiddleford to blush even further.   
He tried to form the words he wanted to say but could only manage a few short gasps. He continued to cuddle up to Ford, drifting off to Ford's gentle touch on his stomach and hot breath on his neck.


	7. What Lies Ahead For Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy I'm back! This chapter is basically a transitional arc inbetween assignments, so they'll be on their next investigation/x file next chapter. Enjoy cute fiddauthor stuff in this one! Warning for some smut in this one. They do the frick frack, folks..you have been warned.

The high winds had finally died down and left many of the trees bare, the colorful autumn leaves strewn about on the ground. With the investigation finished, the two agents were being called back to HQ in DC. Fiddleford was a bit stronger now that he had had a few days to rest and was given stronger pain meds. He still tenderly held his ribs as he walked. A dull pain still permeated around the fractures with each step. As he moved past the doorway to the outside, he noticed Ford talking with his brother.  
"Hey, Stanford. I'm going to wait in the car. Nice meeting you, Stan. Hope we'll see you again soon," Fiddleford waved at Stan and made his way over to the waiting car.   
"I'll be over in a minute, Fidds!" Ford shouted over to him. "Well, looks like this is where we part ways for now," there was a bit of dismay in Ford's voice.   
"Ah, it'll be alright, sixer. If an assignment brings you over to Oregon again, you better visit me, nerd. And I'll have to visit you in DC sometime too," Stan said, placing a hand on Ford's shoulder.   
"Come here," Ford wrapped his arms around Stan, pulling him into a hug. It took Stan a minute to register what was going on before he hugged Ford back.   
"I've missed you so much, Stanley. Thank you for helping me save Fidds. Let's stay in touch, alright?" Ford quickly wrote down his phone number and e-mail on the back of one of his cards. Stan took it with a huge grin on his face.   
"Don't worry! I will. See ya, Ford."   
Ford reluctantly walked over to the car, giving Stan a final wave before climbing in and driving off. He watched in the rear view mirror as the Mystery Shack became smaller and smaller until the surrounding forest engulfed it. With the sun out, shining warm rays down into the car, Fidds soon fell asleep for the whole ride to the airport. From the time of going through the airport to boarding the jet, Fidds mostly leaned against Ford, letting him carry his bags for him.   
"I wonder what the Assistant Director will think of this," Ford mentioned during the flight.   
"He's pretty understanding. I'm sure it'll be fine. Plus, he's always had a soft spot for me," Fidds said, absent mindingly staring out the window.   
"Probably why he let us stay a few extra days in Gravity Falls so you could at least sort of get back on your feet."   
"Mmmhmm..I have the field report done, so he has nothing to hound us on. We got the work done," he said while resting his head on Ford's shoulder. "Thanks for..taking care of me," he muttered as he began to drift off again.   
Ford smiled and tucked an arm around him, leaving a light kiss on his forehead. 

The following day, as soon as they arrived at HQ, they were immediately called into the Assistant Director's office.   
"Now, I want to know exactly what happened," he peered at both of them, crossing his fingers together with a sour look on his face.   
Ford was about to speak but Fidds cut him off. "That night, I wasn't feeling too well, sir. I later woke up and began heading over to where Agent Pines was and was grabbed from behind by an alley. I managed to pull my gun out and nail the attacker across the face with the barrel; however, this was Budd Gleeful, who is a pretty heavy set man much bigger than me. The gun was knocked out of my hand, and he kicked me in the stomach about five times really hard, resulting in two rib fractures. He grabbed me by my head as I was just about to reach my gun and slammed me against a wall, instantly knocking me out. Later, when I woke up, Agent Pines was holding me, making sure I was alright. Him and his brother found out where they had taken me and saved me. And that's basically what happened," Fidds' voice was a bit timid and wavering as he recalled the events.   
Both of them waited in silence for a bit as they waited for a reply from the A.D. Ford adjusted his collar a bit, feeling a tenseness in the air.   
"Well, I'm glad to see you're mostly alright, McGucket. I just need your field report, and we should be all set here. I also want you to take a week break from field investigations to give your injuries a bit more time to heal, and that means Pines too since he's your partner. Just put the report on my desk, and you two are dismissed and just take it easy for the rest of the day, alright?" he said, turning his attention to some documents on his desk.   
Fiddleford placed it on the desk as they walked out the office door.   
"Well, what do you say we get you comfortable over at your apartment? We can get looking at the x files tomorrow," Ford said, walking along at a slow pace next to Fiddleford.   
"You wouldn't mind none..you know, staying at my apartment with me? After all that's happened, I don't think I could stand sleeping alone," Fidds chuckled, keeping his eyes forward.   
"Not a problem, McGucket, but could we stop by my apartment? There's something I want to grab from there."   
"Well, I don't see why not. What is it anyway?"   
"That's a surprise," Ford flashed him a snarky smile.   
Fiddleford lightly elbowed him and smiled back. The sun still shone high in the sky as they exited the HQ in the middle of the afternoon. Since Ford's apartment was close by, they walked over to it, entering into a small studio apartment. As Fidds gazed around at the different UFO posters that hung around the walls, laughing to himself, Ford went straight for the closet, going in and digging around. After about a minute, he came back out with a silver keyboard in his arms along with its power cord being dragged behind him.   
"What? A keyboard?" Fidds looked over at him suspiciously.   
"Yeah! Believe it or not, I'm actually quite good at the piano. A lot of people get annoyed by my piano playing, so that's why it was in the closet but maybe you'd like to hear some of my playing?" Ford asked tentatively.   
He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Fiddleford's face light up. "Oh, of course! I'd love to hear you play!"   
He had a huge grin on his face as he gathered up a few more things before him and Fidds headed towards Fiddleford's apartment.   
Fiddleford's apartment was a one bedroom with a rather spacious living room. As Fiddleford took another dose of pain meds, Ford set up the keyboard in the middle of the living room. He looked over to his left and instantly froze when he spotted an old turntable with various classical vinyls.   
"Woah, Fidds! You didn't tell me you had a bunch of classical vinyls. Mind if I check them out?" he called over.   
"Yeah, knock yourself out, Stanford," he called back from the bathroom.   
Ford wasted no time in sifting through the vinyls and gasping when he spotted a few of his favorites: Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Ticheli, and several others.   
"Impressive collection, huh?" Fiddleford said while gently plopping himself onto the couch.   
"It's amazing! Almost all of my favorite composers are here!" Ford squealed, all giddy.   
"So, you were gonna play something on that keyboard?" Fiddleford mentioned, sipping on some hot tea.   
Ford jumped up suddenly, "Oh, yeah! Sorry, I was geeking out over there. Hold on, just have to plug it in and..ready."   
As soon as he plugged it in, he practically tripped over the rug running over to a stool in front of it. "You ready? I'm going to play Nocturne in E Flat Major by Chopin..and here we go."   
Fiddleford watched Ford's twelve fingers move with ease over the keys as the song began. The notes hung in the air, sweetly and slowly winding their way into Fidds' ears. Ford had a slight smile on his face as he closed his eyes and swayed a bit to the music. Fidds could practically feel the emotion in each key stroke with the crescendos booming in his ears and the softer notes lingering in the air. Ford's smile grew as he heard Fidds quietly humming along. The notes resounded throughout the entire apartment, even out into other rooms. The faint cries of a baby slowly died down as others listened in to the soft melody. Ford let the last few tender notes linger before lifting his fingers from the keys. He looked over at Fiddleford, instantly snapping the other man back to reality. He immediately began clapping. "Bravo! That was beautiful, Stanford! I was mesmerized..if ya couldn't tell," Fidds laughed, wincing a bit as he grabbed his side.   
"Hehe, thanks. It's one of my favorites. It's really nice to play again. No one really appreciated my piano playing, well besides Stanley when we were young. So, this keyboard's been put away for a while," Ford said, while running his fingers over the keys.   
"But of course! I mean, you're really good. I bet we'd make a great piano banjo duo."   
Ford looked up at Fiddleford in surprise. "You play the banjo? That's amazing!"   
"Yeah! I was basically born with a banjo in hand. Hold on, I'll grab it."   
Fiddleford grabbed a case right by the couch. "What do you wanna hear?" Fidds asked, strumming a few chords.   
"Oh, uh, what's a good banjo one? How about Cripple Creek?"   
"Ah, an excellent choice."   
Ford stared in awe as he watched Fiddleford's fingers skillfully and ever so quickly fly across the banjo. He even started experimenting with a few piano parts that would go well with the song.   
"Woo! Told ya we'd make a good duo!" Fidds grinned as he strummed the last note. He noticed Ford staring at him longingly.   
"What is it?" he asked as he carefully set the banjo back in its case.   
"I guess it is true. Music really can turn people on," Ford skillfully slid his tie off and began unbuttoning his shirt.   
"*ahem* Wanna play some music on the ol' record player? You know, for mood and atmosphere," Fidds stammered, coughing awkwardly.   
Ford was next to him on the couch in a few seconds. "Hmm, and what do you think would be a good song to get it on to?" Ford leaned in close to Fidds with a sly smirk.   
He bit his lip as he felt Ford's body heat pressing against him. "W-w-well, how about Schubert's Ave Maria. Kinda cliche, but it's a good one," Fidds muttered, licking his lips. "I-I'll go put it on."   
Fiddleford nearly tripped as he practically ran over to the turntable and fumbled around the vinyls until he found Schubert. He cranked the volume up enough so it could be heard softly from the bedroom. Ford plopped both their glasses on the nearby nightstand before gently pushing Fidds onto the bed, knowing the fractures were still pretty fresh. He lifted Fidds on top of him as their lips found each other. As they made out, Ford began unbuttoning Fidds' shirt and untucking it by pulling the shirt out from his pants.   
"Ah, yes..this is defnitely a song we can gently fuck to," Ford moaned into Fiddleford's ear.   
Fidds whimpered as he felt those fingers sliding down his back. He could already feel Ford's hard on poking at his crotch. Their lips met again fiercely, Fidds pushing into Ford, gasping as their bare chests rubbed against each other. After a bit more passionate makeouts, Fidds sat up and looked down at Ford. He shed himself of his shirt that still hung on him and allowed Ford easy access to his belt. His six fingers quickly undid the buckle and unzipped Fidds' pants. He helped Fidds slip them off, planting light kisses across his collarbone, Fidds letting out tiny moans with each kiss. Ford took the opportunity to slide Fiddleford's underwear off too, noticing the gigantic purple bruise that still blotted over a good portion of Fiddleford's chubby stomach.   
"I imagine you're still pretty sore. It's only been a few days," Ford said while he gently caressed the bruised area with his lips.   
"Y-yeah. But I trust you, Stanford," Fiddleford assured while petting his head, kneading his fingers into Ford's hair.   
Ford let out a few satisfying hums. "I don't care what you say. I love your chubby tum," Ford said sweetly, gazing up at the other man.   
Fiddleford was already blushing so much, all he could do was flash a goofy smile at Ford.   
"I want you so bad right now..hold on," Ford shed himself of his shirt and slipped off his pants as quickly as possible. Just as he was about to slide his underwear off, Fidds stopped him, wincing a bit at the sudden downward motion. "Wait, let me."   
His hands shook a bit as he grabbed onto the sides and pulled them down. Blush overtook his face as he saw Ford lying beneath him completely exposed. He could already feel his boner, aching for Ford.   
"St-Stanford," he groaned, sliding a hand down his length.   
"Let me take care of that," Ford guided him down on top of him with a hand on his lower back. Fiddleford arched his back as he felt his cock slide against Ford's. He took shaky breaths as he pressed his head against Ford's chest, and nearly screamed when he felt both of Ford's hands grab his ass.   
"You ready?" Ford asked in his ear.   
Fidds only nodded and grabbed onto the back of Ford's neck and into his hair. He was already a mess as Ford rubbed Fidds against him in a rhythmic thrusting motion. Ford sped up the motion and rubbed harder against Fidds, though he slowed back down when he felt Fidds wincing. With Schubert playing in the background, Ford kept it sweet and gentle. Fiddleford could do nothing but moan and suckle at the side of Ford's neck. He grabbed two handfuls of Ford's hair as he came, moaning into his ear with Ford reaching release soon after. They spent the next half hour lazily making out, both moving to their sides and pressed up against each other. Fidds gazed into Ford's eyes, brushing a few stray hairs back.   
"That was..amazing..as always. Sorry we can't really go too hard. Believe me, I want to but can't help fractured ribs," Fiddleford giggled as Ford pulled him closer.   
Pressing his head against Ford's chest, he listened to his heartbeat, slow and steady, and drifted off to the rhythmic thu-thump and Ford's warmth around him. 

A week breezed by in a flash. The two agents spent most of it in Ford's office at HQ, looking over x files and recent reports of strange phenomena. With the rest of the time being spent in Fiddleford's apartment: having jam sessions, listening to vinyls, and...other things.   
"So, our week is up. Have you found anything for an investigation yet?" Fidds looked up at Ford from a file he was reading.   
"Actually, I believe I have. There's this town near Tuscaloosa, Alabama that has recent reports of people going missing and..crazy too apparently. It matches an x file on that very same area. I think it'd be worth looking into," Ford informed, handing the x file to Fidds.   
Fiddleford stopped right at the title. "The..Tall Man, also better known as Slenderman? This isn't talking about that slenderman thing that's all over the Internet, is it? The thing with no face in a suit?"   
"The very same. Take a look at the pictures. According to the reports in there, there's apparently some cult that worships it as a deity of sorts. This cult seems to be causing quite a lot of trouble for the town."   
Fiddleford's eyes moved past a collection of out of focus, grainy, and blurry pictures of something tall and thin peering from the woods.   
"It says cameras and recording equipment malfunction around this thing?" Fidds asked as he continued to read.   
"Yeah, that's why all the pictures are blurry and messed up. I think it's probably impossible to get a good picture of the thing. So, what do you think? Should this be the assignment we do? I"m sure the A.D. is expecting a response from us soon," Ford reminded him.   
"I mean, I guess. This seems really 'out there,' but it could make for an interesting assignment. Plus, I'll be right at home in Alabama!" Fidds smiled.   
Ford rose up from his seat and guided Fiddleford over to the doorway by his shoulders. "Good! Let's not waste another minute, then!"


	8. Inner Demons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, this is a long one, but hey, a lot of stuff happens. The song Ford plays on the piano is "Underfoot" from the homestuck soundtrack here's a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vosxBpknKw0 And the song he sings near the end is Gravity by Sara Bareilles. As usual, I'd like to thank my friend Stephie, I used a lot of her lines and ideas for the dream stuff. ^^ Enjoy!

The sun overhead beamed down its light into the car windows, creating a harsh haze of light. Thick forests choked with vines and dying foliage due to it being the beginning of November was all they had seen for the past few hours of driving. Landing in an airport in Tuscaloosa, the town was about two hours out, and they were finally almost there. A few times, as Fiddleford would stare out the passenger side window, he could've sworn he saw people just standing around in the woods; however, when he looked back over, no one was there.   
"Wha cha looking at, Fidds?" Ford asked, noticing the number of double takes he was taking.   
"I just keep thinkin I'm seein people out in the woods, but when I look again, there's nothin there," Fidds replied, focusing his attention back to Ford.   
"Haha, don't tell me slenderman's already getting to you," Ford chuckled, winking at him.   
"Pssh, of course not. Like before, it's gonna be because of something completely rational. It's probably because of the cult the x file mentioned: delusional people that believe this slenderman is their deity. That's all it is."   
"Hmm, I guess we'll find out. We're coming up on the town now," Ford pointed to some traffic lights approaching.   
The town was of a decent size. The downtown area was actually rather large with a few small districts surrounded by neighborhoods and then the woods. Using the GPS on his phone, Ford easily found the hotel the AD assigned them a room to. Ford whistled as they pulled up into a parking space, gazing up at the rather fancy hotel towering about ten stories into the air.   
"Wow, he must really feel bad about you getting your ribs broken, Fidds. Not that I'm complaining..." Ford smirked.   
Both of them took their bags and entered the hotel. Fidds insisted Ford not carry all of his bags, so Ford let him take his light backpack. Both stopped in their tracks as they looked around at the lobby. It wan an older hotel, but it had a charming 70's style decor. As they neared the front desk, Ford gasped and pulled on Fiddleford's jacket.   
"Fidds! Fidds! Look, it's a an actual grand piano!" Ford ran over to a large piano with the lid slightly opened. It looked to be from the same era as the furniture.   
"Ohh, we have to ask them if I can play it! It's been so long since I've played an actual piano that's not a keyboard," Ford's voice was all jittery.   
"Alright, alright! Just try to settle down."   
The woman at the front desk was quite cheery with a distinct Alabama accent. She quickly got them their keys, which were actual metal keys, once they showed their badges.   
"Oh yeah, my partner was wonderin if he could play on that piano over there," Fiddleford added, glancing over there.   
He could practically feel Ford bouncing up and down behind him.   
"Oh, certainly, dear. Piano's open to anyone who wants to play it," she said with a smile.   
"Thanks for all your help, miss!"   
"Good luck with the investigation, agents!"   
"Ya hear that, Pines...and he's already at the piano," Fidds sighed, picking up his banjo case and heading over to Ford.   
"Hmm..wonder what I should play..oh I know!"   
Fidds plopped himself down carefully in a lounge chair by the piano. "Alright, maestro, I'm waiting."   
Ford inhaled deeply before he began playing a soft but quick melody. It started out quietly and gradually built up with the bass part being added in. Fidds could feel the pure emotion in the notes as the song progressed. The conversations that had been going on in the lobby ceased as everyone listened in to the piano. A small crowd even began to gather by them. Ford closed his eyes as he played, closing himself off from the world around him and focusing so it was just him and the piano. His twelve fingers flew over the keys with the ease of a practiced and skilled hand. The song softened back to how it was in the beginning, and Ford let the notes sweetly fade into the background before lifting his fingers from the keys. The sudden applause nearly made him jump as he opened his eyes and snapped back to reality. He leaned forward a bit in a small bow, grinning and scratching the back of his head.   
"Alright, maestro. Let's get up to the room already," Fidds tilted his head in the direction of the elevator.   
The two agents talked excitedly as the elevator ascended to the tenth floor.   
"Stanford, stop it!" Fidds giggled playfully as Ford kept trying to pinch his ass.   
"Mmmm, I can't wait for tonight," he purred as he opened Room 1001 with one of the heavy keys. Both men gasped as they gazed around the room. Two queen sized beds lay against a wall by a gigantic window overlooking the town. On the opposite side on a stepped platform was a jacuzzi, steam rising from it from the heat. There was a small open living area with a TV and couch as well as a dark wood desk over near the beds. In the bathroom was a big glass walk in shower.   
"Damn, the AD really went all out. And that jacuzzi..man I have a few ideas for how we could use that," Ford smirked, eyeing Fidds.   
Fidds blushed, playfully elbowing him. "And it'll be good for healing my bruises on my stomach too. But we can think about this stuff later. Right now, we have to begin the investigation. We're supposed to be meeting with the sheriff around two."   
"Yeah, yeah. I know. You just make it so hard to focus sometimes, since you know, you're hot. But you're right. We have some slenderman hunting to do!" Ford said before wrapping an arm around Fiddleford's waist, pulling him into a quick kiss. They let their lips linger a bit before pulling away. As they made their way to the police station, Fidds couldn't stop smiling and looking down at Ford. The downtown area was rather sizable with quaint shops and businesses all around. The trees here were still turning auburn colors and hadn't fallen quite yet due to the southern heat.   
"I bet you're right at home here, McGucket, with all the southern slang and all. You might need to translate for me," Ford said as they walked down the street.   
"Haha, yeah, I suppose," Fidds chuckled.   
It wasn't hard to spot the police station with the sheriff standing outside and waving wildly at them as soon as he spotted the two suited agents.   
"Hey, agents! You made it!" he practically ran right into them. "I'm so glad you two are here. Things have been getting pretty bad lately." he spoke in a slight southern drawl like Fidds.   
"Well, glad we got here then. I'm Agent Pines, and this is Agent McGucket. We hear you're having some trouble with a cult and possibly a monster of some sort," Ford asked while pushing the sheriff off of him.   
"Yes! More people have been goin' missing and weird chanting can be heard from the woods at night. If you agents will follow me into the station, I can give you as much information as possible on everything. Then, I'll show you the spot where we think their meetings are."   
They followed the sheriff inside the quaint police station and were handed files on missing persons and accounts of sightings.   
"The x file on this also mentioned some sort of entity that's somehow linked to this monster. It says that it possesses people. Has anyone noticed anyone acting strangely, as in, not like themselves?" Ford asked as he scanned through a few documents.   
"Hmm, not that I'm aware of, Agent Pines. But since you mentioned it, I'll put the word out and see what I can find out. Oh and I should warn the two fo you that this cult is very secretive. I think some people with a bit of power in this town might even be a part of it. You might find that many people you ask about this might not give you a straight answer. But, my officers and I will do our best to help out where we can."   
"Thanks, sheriff. Well, Pines, we should probably head over to the woods and investigate the meeting spot, don't ya think?" Fidds asked, looking to Ford.   
"Right! I want to see where all this weird stuff is happening."   
"Well, alright! I'll drive you two over to the edge of the woods, then we'll have to walk from there." The sheriff signaled the two of them to follow him.   
The cruiser bumped and tousled them around as they turned onto a dirt road that wound its way through a field behind the town right to where the woods began. A wall of brown, dying vines and thicket created a barrier between them and the interior of the forest. It looked to be rather old with the trees towering over them and creating a thick canopy that blocked out the sunlight. They followed the sheriff and ducked down below the thicket and entered the woods. It was eerily quiet. The only sounds to be heard were their own footsteps upon the dead leaves and sticks, creating hollow, bone snapping sounds. No birds sang, or any other creatures usually found in the woods. Fiddleford's heart beat increased, and he stuck close to Ford as a strange presence was setting him on edge.   
"Hey, what's wrong" Ford whispered.   
"S-something's weird about these woods. I just..don't like the feel of this atmosphere," Fiddleford whispered back.   
"Hmm, there is a strange pressure here."   
It seemed to get darker as they followed the sheriff deeper into the labyrinth of trees. After about ten more minutes of walking, they climbed up a small hill and found a bunch of mobile modules strewn about in a circle.   
"This is where they hold their meetings. Before you ask, we've aleady searched the modules, but they don't leave anything behind. They're completely empty, save for desks and tables and such," the sheriff informed.   
In the middle of the circel of modules, they spotted a circle drawn into the ground. Something that looked like the slenderman being was in the middle of it. Looking at the circle, Fiddleford felt like there were a million eyes on him.   
"Well, I guess we should split up and look around a bit right McGucket?" Ford asked, snapping Fiddleford out of his trance.   
"Oh, yeah. Of course," he stammered, trying to shake the feeling away. Fidds took the lower part of the module circle while Ford and the sheriff took the other sides. The feeling of being watched intensified once Fidds was alone, looking around the sides of a module. He found strange scratch marks and what looked to be bullet marks on the wall of the structure. He gasped suddenly as a harsh whsiper resounded in his ear. He froze and backed up against the wall as he spotted a tall suited figure peering at him from a nearby tree. He was about to cry out for Ford when it suddenly teleported right in front of him, the force causing the dead leaves to fly out around it. It was about eight feet tall, towering over Fidds with a white, blank face. It tilted its head coyly as it moved closer. However, it was more like gliding over to him. It didn't walk or move its legs at all. Now, it was only about a foot away from Fidds and lowered its head down to Fiddleford's level. it was as if it was holding him in place with invisible threads because Fiddleford found he couldn't move at all. He felt like there were a bunch of tentacles pinning him to the wall. Trying to cry out, he found his voice caught in his throat. He could only manage a few tiny whimpers as it brought its face close to his. A jagged line etched its way across its face in a weird crooked smile. A cruel mouth opened up, black liquid dribbling from it. A slimy, black tongue slithered out from the misshapen mouth. It was sickingly warm as it slowly licked its way across Fidds' face.   
"N-no..leave me alone," he managed to cough out.   
The tongue was about to forcibly enter into his mouth when a new voice echoed through the intense silence. "Get outta here, fucker!"   
Slenderman instantly teleported away as the figure approached. Fiddleford immediately began sputtering and coughing as he fell to the ground now that the force was off of him.   
"Wow, you're one lucky lil agent. My acquaintance was about to do some fun things to you," the voice had a cruel edge to it. He took the hand that was offered to him and saw a young man that looked to be in his early twenties with deep brown hair and deep set eyes.   
"Excuse me, but did you say acquaintance?"   
"Uh, yeah! Weren't you listening?" he gave a huge smile that concerned Fiddleford. The agent began to back up slowly.   
"Are you..the entity the x file talked about?"   
"Wow, you really are a smart cookie! I suppose an entity is a good name for me. This kid is my new meat puppet. And oh man, he was so so easy to possess. Hehe talk about gulible, but I can tell you're not so gullible, McGucket. You're a skeptic, and I like that. tell ya what, I'm gonna help you and your partner/lover bring down this cult cuz you know what, ol' slendy doesn't deserve the recognition. And quite frankly, they're pretty damn annoying."   
"How do I know I can trust you, um whatever your name is?"   
"Haha, my name isn't important, and well, I guess you don't. I'm not asking you to trust me. I just want you two to fuck their shit up."   
"Fair enough. So, are you and that thing enemies or something?" Fidds noticed he was slowly circling around him as they talked.   
"Well, I wouldn't call us that. Rivals, I guess? Either way, I have my own agenda. You see, all I like to do is watch people bleed and suffer. It really gives me a hard on, but don't worry, that won't happen to you...well at least not in this physical plane. Well, I got some other things to take care of..see you tonight, Fiddly," he winked at Fiddleford and calmly walked down the hill, waving as he disappeared behind a tree.   
"See me tonight?" Fidds kept thinking about what that thing had said as he made his way back to the circle in the middle. His heart was pounding out of his chest, and the words of the entity reverberated through his brain. He found that he couldn't look directly at the drawing in the middle of the circle. It brought up flashes of images from his encounter with slenderman.   
"McGucket! What's wrong?" Ford ran up to him, noticing he was about to fall over.   
"I-I think I just encountered that 'thing.' And then I encountered that entity that the x file talked about. It's possessing a young man's mind. I could tell it wasn't human by something in its voice. I j-just..don't know what to think right now," Fidds was rocking back and forth on his feet, his eyes shifting around like he was looking for someone.   
"I think it's best we get out of these woods for now. Obviously my partner's seen something rather disturbing, and this tense atmosphere isn't helping," Ford said as he draped an arm around Fidds.   
"Oh, right! Follow me!"   
Like before, it took about ten minutes to get back to the cruiser. Ford led Fidds with an arm around his shoulders the whole time. It wasn't until they left the forest that Fiddleford finally relaxed, feeling the pressure lift. He kept rather quiet on the ride back to the station. Ford thought it best that they head back to the hotel and carries all the files and documents with him up to the room. Fiddleford sat on the bed on the right, taking in deep breaths. Just as Ford had plopped the documents down on the desk and was about to sit down next to Fiddleford to make sure he was okay, his cellphone went off in a torrent of vibrations.   
"Hello, this is Agent Pines...oh hi, sheriff. What is it?"   
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you, but the cult is going to be having their next meeting at that place tomorrow in the early evening around five."   
"Oh, thanks! Yeah, we'll definitely be there. Bye."   
"Who was that?" Fidds asked from the bed.   
"That was the sheriff. Turns out the cult's next meeting is tomorrow around five o'clock. So, we at least know what we're doing next," Ford sighed as he sat next to Fidds, the added weight causing the mattress to bounce Fidds a bit.   
Ford leaned against him. "You alright? You were pretty shaken up back there."   
"Honestly, it's still scaring me. *sigh* I think I need a drink."   
"Hmm, I think there's a bar down in the lobby if you want to go," Ford's face instantly brightened.   
"Well, I don't see why not. I have seen some shit," Fiddleford smiled at Ford, shedding himself of his jacket and loosening his tie a bit.   
They sat at the end of the bar, Ford recommending all sorts of drinks. Ford took the opportunity to discuss subjects of aliens and conspiracies that Fidds begrudingly listned to. After a few tequila flights, Fiddleford could already tell he had one too many when he noticed the lights and furniture around him start to move in slight swirling patterns. They both lazily stared at each other.   
"St-Stanford..I thiiink I'm drunk," Fidds slurred, trying his best to pronunciate words.   
"Hehe, me too," Ford hiccuped.   
Fidds suddenly noticed how close Ford was. He could tell he was drooling over him.   
"Ughh, l-let'ss head up to the room th-then," Fiddleford managed to stand on shaky legs. They used each other to steady themselves and slowly made their way to the elevator. Inside the elevator, Ford's wandering hands found Fiddleford's ass and gave it a few pinches. Fidds giggled and told him to stop it. They were already wrapped up in each other making out hard as soon as the elevator opened. Ford had Fidds pinned against the door, practically devouring each other as Ford fumbled for the key. He moaned as Fidds grabbed onto his hair and pressed their lips together to deepen the kisses. After about ten tries, Ford finally got the key in and unlocked the door. The door was slammed behind them as they both fell onto the bed. They began sloppily ripping each other's clothes off, starting with their ties and working down. Fidds winced a bit as one of Ford's hands roughly brushed against his ribs. Even with meds, they were still a bit sore and being drunk only increased the intensity.   
"Ohh, sh-shit. Sorry Fidds. M-maybe we should haf a safe word," Ford said, still slipping off Fiddleford's pants, underwear and all.   
"Like what?"   
"Uhh....aliens are r-real, and you were right, Ford."   
"....thatsa sentence, Stanford."   
"There's words init."   
"How about aliens are real, and you're sooo hot, Ford," Fiddleford giggled and hiccuped.   
Ford only chuckled before plowing his lips back onto Fidds'. Fiddleford moaned with each touch, feeling every sensation of Ford's hands running against his skin. After some more making out, both began to black out and ended up falling asleep entangled in each other. Fidds smiled, feeling Ford' warmth around him like a blanket.   
"S-sorry, we had to stop here," Ford said, sleep heavy in his voice.   
"Mmmmm, just bein with you like this is enough."   
Both of them drifted off to sleep wrapped up in each other.   
Hey there, little piggy," the familiar, haunting voice echoed through Fidds' mind.   
Fiddleford found himself standing on the side of a dark country road. The familiar southern humidity hung heavy in the air on a quiet summer's night. Sounds of a struggle made him look over to a lone streetlight where a young boy with round glasses was being beaten by four older men. They smelled heavy of beer and whiskey as they kicked and kneed him in the face and stomach. Whenever he tried to cry out, the sound was muffled by a swift kick, causing him to sputter blood on the ground. Many homophobic slurs were being drunkingly shouted as the boy begged them to stop. They finally knocked a bottle over his head and left him sniffling and bleeding on the ground. They spat at him before climbing back into their trucks and driving off.   
"No, no, no...not this," Fidds covered his eyes as painful memories were resurfacing.   
"You're such a disappointment, son. You couldn't be normal like everyone else. You ruined our family's reputation. I wish I had a son who wasn't a freak," Fiddleford gasped as his father stood there over his beat up younger self.   
He began stepping back, tears blurring his vision. The entity's voice whispered in his ear, "People look at them differently because of you, Fiddleford. You shamed your family. You're the reason your parents suffer so much. You're the reason they still can't walk around town comfortably."   
"N-no, that's not true! My parents love me..just please..stop."   
It laughed maniacally as the scene shifted to a snowy park. Fiddleford was standing beneath a lone light again with Ford standing in front of him. However, his eyes were cold and distant, nothing like how Ford usually looks at him.   
"St-Stanford, what's wrong?" Fidds tried to reach out to him, but his hand was viciously swatted away. "Stanford, please, talk to me!" He wrapped his arms around him but was pushed away, causing him to land on the icy ground below.   
"I never loved you. I never cared for you, and I never will. How could anyone? You're a coward, you're a nobody, and worthless," Ford relentlessly shouted at him. Afterwards, he simply stormed off, not even looking back at Fidds, leaving him lying on the ground sobbing. The snow burned his face with its coldness. After a few minutes of lying there, trying to comprehend what just happened, two hands grabbed his collar and hoisted him up. It was the young man possessed by the entity, flashing a sinister smile.   
"Nighty night, little piggy," he smirked as he pulled out a hunting knife from a side pocket and stabbed it right into Fiddleford's chest without hesitation. He wiggled it around in the wound, causing blood to pour out and splatter.   
Fiddleford violently woke up, gasping for air but found himself unable to breathe. His lungs and ribs ached like there was a fire burning within his chest. His heaving and sputtering gasps instantly woke Ford up from his drunken sleep.   
"W-woah, Fidds! What's the matter?" he grabbed onto Fiddleford, patting his head and rubbing his back, trying to get him to calm down. Not sure what else to do, he began singing in a low tone. "Something always brings me back to you. It never takes too long. No matter what I say or do, I still feel you here, til the moment I'm gone.." Ford's singing and comforting hands eventually began to pull Fiddleford back to reality. His breaths were still quick and a bit panicked, but he was breathing now.   
"There we go. You're okay. You're okay," Ford cooed.   
Fiddleford quivered against his broad shoulders. "Ford..do you think my parents hate me?..for everything I've done to them?"   
Ford wasn't sure what to say. He just continued stroking Fiddleford as he searched for the right words.   
"Do you think they wish they had a different son? One who could actually make them proud?" Fidds looked up at the other man with several tears running down his face. "Do they love me? Do you love me?" he began heavily sobbing again.   
"Fidds, how could you even say those things?" Ford lifted Fidds' head up a bit by his chin. "I love you so much, so much, Fiddleford. Your parents love you..how could they not? You're so brilliant and kind and incredible. I'm sure they're proud of you because I know I'm proud of you," he said, holding Fiddleford tighter.   
Fiddleford was still sobbing, "I just..I had a dream...that you..you said, that..you didn't love me, and I-I"   
"Shhh, Fidds, it's okay. It was just a dream, and it wasn't real. I'm here with you. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."   
"C-could you maybe..sing some more. Your voice is so beautiful and really calming," the sobs died down a bit, so now he was just sniffling.   
"Of course."   
Ford continued the song, rocking Fidds back and forth. "Set me free. Leave me be. I don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity.."   
By the time he finished the song, Fidds' eyes grew heavy, and he drifted back to sleep. Being worried about him, Ford stayed up and cradled him. However, when he was about to go back to sleep, a strange presence suddenly unnerved him. A sense of dread along with a crackling sound that was like TV static made him wildly search the room with his eyes. In a far corner, he spotted an eight foot tall figure in a suit just standing there in the dark. Ford wasn't sure how long it had stood there, and he didn't want to know. He just closed his eyes and held Fiddleford to protect him.   
Fiddleford opened his eyes to sunlight against his face. Stretching and yawning and trying not to since at the sudden headache, he saw Ford already making coffee over in the kitchen. Seeing that he was up, Ford brought over a cup along with some aspirin.   
"Morning, Fidds," he smiled weakly at him.   
"Stanford, you look terrible. Did you get any sleep after I went back to sleep last night?"   
"No, I'm afraid I didn't. There was a weird presence in the room that kept me up. Ugh, sorry, but I need to take a shower and try to wake myself up," Ford mumbled as he rubbed his eyes behind his glasses.   
Fiddleford felt a twinge of guilt since he was the one that woke Ford up. He brushed his teeth as Ford was still in the shower and looked over when he heard the shower stop. When Ford hot out, his eyes scanned over Ford's body and stopped at a few odd bruises by his ribs he hadn't noticed before. He tore his eyes away from them when Ford looked over at him.   
"So, what are we doing for the investigation today?" he asked, joining Fidds in front of the mirror.   
"Well, we don't have to go anywhere until around five for the cult's meeting. Other than that, we can look through the documents and use the web to find out more on this town.....so if you want, you can get a few hours of rest. I think that'd be best for you."   
"Ahh, you're the best, Fidds. I'd be such a disorganized mess without you. You don't have to but would you mind..cuddling with me. It helps me get to sleep," Ford said, a bit embarrassed.   
"Of course, Stanford," Fidds replied, lightly kissing his cheek.   
Ford put on a shirt but left it unbuttoned as Fidds cuddled up to him in bed. He slipped both of their glasses off before settling in. Once Ford was asleep, Fiddleford carefully moved the shirt out of the way and studied the strange bruises closely. They were deep purple and looked to be pretty deep like they had been there for a while. They blotted a few areas by his ribs and stomach area as permanent scars. Fidds lightly ran his fingers over them, lightly enough to not wake Ford.   
"Who did this to you, Stanford?"


	9. Old Stories and Atrocities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit goes down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU'RE GONNA SUFFER   
> (Warning for depictions of violence in this chapter)   
> I apologize in advance for this.

"Are you sure you don't need me to go with you?" Fiddleford asked as Ford slipped his jacket and badge on.   
Dusk was nearing with the sky in hues of indigo and gradually fading into gray.   
"I think it's best you just rest for the rest of tonight. I'll be fine! I'm just spying on a potentially dangerous cult's meeting. But I'll watch from a distance so I won't be caught. Will you be fine here by yourself?" he asked as he straightened his tie.   
"Y-yeah, I'll be okay. I'm just worried about you being out there on your own," Fidds muttered, staring down at the floor and rubbing at his ribs.   
"I'll be back. I promise," Ford assured, planting a tender kiss on Fidds' forehead. "See you in a bit," Ford trucked his holster away as he reluctantly left Fidds in the hotel room and headed towards the police station to meet up with the sheriff. The sheriff drove him over to the same spot he had brought them to earlier. As he entered the forest, he spotted a line of small lights with shadowy figures moving deeper into the woods in a huge line way off to the right.   
"Sure you don't want me to go with you, agent?" the sheriff whispered from the vines.   
"No, I'll need you waiting here in case I need to make a quick escape. I'll be back in a bit, sheriff," Ford whispered back, giving a thumbs up and creeping into the growing darkness. He kept his flashlight off as he followed where the line of lights were heading from a distance. As he climbed over a small hill, he spotted the modules close by, lit up like a beacon by multiple torches. Figures cloaked in black walked about the buildings with more incoming from the line he had followed. He approached the meeting grounds as close as he could without being spotted., ducking behind a tree close enough so he could hear whoever was talking. One strong voice projected itself, hushing the others.   
"Everyone! Tonight is a special night. Tonight we will summon our dark lord: The Tall One," he paused as everyone else cheered. Ford glanced over to see a huge bonfire in the middle of the very same strange circle they had encountered earlier. "I'm sure all of you are aware of the two nosy federal agents who recently arrived here in our quaint little town." A multitude of boo's and curses resounded amongst the crowd. "I know. I know. But soon, they will be gone. I will summon our Great Lord tonight and ask him to get rid of them for good...Now, let us begin."   
The crowd cheered as the leader drew out a knife and proceeded to cut a slit in his palm. Ford winced as he watched the cutting motion and saw the blood dripping down onto the circle. He then began chanting an incantation in a strange language that sounded like it didn't belong in this world. The bonfire's flames changed to black and gray as the incantation intensified. It writhed about in a way that was like it was alive. Ford wasn't sure, but there was a creeping feeling about him like there was a presence. The fire flashed and roared upwards as the leader spat the last word. As it died down, Ford gasped as slenderman stood amongst the dying embers. The crowd looked on in awe, drawing close to it.   
"Welcome, Great One! Welcome! We have a small favor to ask of you. The two FBI-" the leader suddenly began gurgling as a black tentacle stabbed right through him. Blood immediately began gushing from his mouth as it lifted him to slenderman's expressionless face and mercilessly slammed him onto the ground with a sickening splat. A few members had some sense and ran back towards the town. The rest, however, just stood there like dumbfounded sheep to the slaughter, watching as their leader bled out on the ground. The mass killing began as slenderman teleported about, picking off the cult members one by one. Ford couldn't take much more. He slowly backed up, covering his ears and trying to block out the multiple screams that echoed through the trees. He could've sworn that thing glanced his way by tilting its head which made his heart nearly skip a beat. He clutched at his chest, eyes wide with horror but was unable to look away at the slaughter happening in front of him.   
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ford heard a voice behind him in the darkness.   
Instinctively, he drew his gun and twirled himself around. "Who's there?? I'm a federal agent, and I'm armed!"   
"Woahh, there. Relax, Stanford. I'm not with those idiots," a young man approached from the shadows of the trees. He held his arms up with a wide grin on his face. He looked to be normal enough, though something about his eyes deeply disturbed Ford. Even though he was still on edge, Ford lowered his gun, eyeing him up and down.   
"If you're not with them, then who are you?" Ford asked, keeping his distance.   
"Oh, well, I'm really an entity named Squalor from another dimension. This here is just my current meat suit, but...I'm growing rather bored of him."   
Ford was about to raise his gun again. "You! You're the entity McGucket was telling me about..stay away from me!"   
"Aw, yeah..little Fidds is such a cutie, isn't he? I can see why you're attracted to him. I have to say, you two make a cute couple..it disgusts me," his usual melancholy tone turned oddly menacing at the last part. He kept inching closer to Ford. "Now, I need a big strong meat suit..some like...you!" he winked at Ford.   
"What? I'd never let you possess my mind!"   
"Oh, that's cute! You think you can resist me. HA! Good luck with all those inner demons you carry...like dear ol' dad."   
That made Ford drop his guard for a second, giving Squalor all the time he needed. The young man he had possessed suddenly collapsed like a puppet, and Ford knelt down in pain as he felt Squalor force his way into his mind.   
"No...NO! Get out!" he desperately shouted, scratching at his head and rolling around the coarse, dead leaves.   
"Too late! Once I'm in, there's no stopping me!"   
Ford felt himself being forcibly pulled into his unconscious as he lost control of his own conscious mind. The last thing he saw before everything went black was being pulled into darkness and seeing a terrible, blood stained monster gazing down and smiling at him. 

Fidds breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the familiar knock at the door. He smiled gleefully as he opened the door to Ford grinning at him.   
"So, how'd it go? Were you able to spy on that cult?" he asked, helping Ford shed off his jacket.   
"Oh yeah, it was successful. I learned a lot about the cult that should help with this case. But right now, my top priority is you," he said, kissing Fidds' forehead.   
Fidds giggled as Ford wrapped his arms around him. He gasped as Ford's lips pressed hard against his, pushing him up against a wall with a thud. They made out roughly with Fidds moaning as Ford brought a knee up, applying pressure on his crotch. He continued to moan and rock his hips against Ford's leg as the other man caressed his neck. Fidds jumped and nearly squealed as Ford bit his neck hard, drawing some blood. Fidds just tried to shrug off the first one but immediately pushed Ford away from him as he drew blood a second time.   
"I mean, I like it rough, but it's not like you to bite me that hard, Stanford," he winced as the bite marks stung a bit to the touch.   
"Well, maybe you should have a safe word instead of shoving me away so rudely," Ford teased with a strange edge to his voice.   
Fidds caught onto this edge. It was something not human.   
"Wh-what's wrong with your voice, Stanford? It doesn't sound like you," Fidds glanced over at his gun on the bed, trying to slowly inch his way over.   
"Wow, you're smarter than I gave you credit for, Fiddly!"   
"Wait...Fiddly? Y-y-you're that entity thing from the woods!" Fidds gasped.   
"Yup! Right on the money. Name's Squalor. Sorry, I'm just borrowing your boyfriend here. I wanted to try out a nice, strong body."   
Squalor could tell that Fidds kept looking over at the gun on the bed. "Oh, it's a fight you want? Good, that's what I came for..to let off some steam," he said, cracking his knuckles.   
Fidds' heart pounded, not knowing whether he should try to lunge for the gun or not. In a split second decision, Fiddleford desperately lunged for the bed, jumping for the gun. However, just as it was in reach, his legs were pulled out from under him, causing his face to slam on the ground and his glasses jarred from his face. His mouth felt numb from the impact as two hands lifted him into the air by his collar.   
"Haha, you're bolder than I thought, McGucket. Tell ya what..I'll give you a freebie. Go ahead. Give me a good ol' fist to my face. Give it your all," Squalor laughed, still holding Fidds by his collar.   
Fidds' lip quivered as he held a shaky fist up. The eyes weren't Ford's. His were soft and kind. These were dark, cold, and full of malice, devoid of any kindness. Fiddleford knew it wasn't Ford. He was trying to concentrate and build up the will power to punch Squalor with all his strength, but his fist faltered and fell down by his side. He looked up at possessed Ford, his vision blurred by oncoming tears.   
"I...can't. I can't do it," he sobbed.   
Squalor chuckled, bringing Fidds into an odd hug. "Hmmm..and here I thought you'd finally grow a pair. Oh well, when it comes to physical strength, Pines has you beat. Now, I'll tell you what I'm about to do. Quite simply, I'm about to beat the shit out of you. I'm gonna make you bleed. Once I feel I've done enough, I'll let Pines have his mind back and leave. And the first thing he sees is his lover dying on the floor."   
Hearing this, Fidds, desperately tried to escape his grasp, but Squalor had a deadly grip on him.   
"Let the fun begin!"   
He kneed Fiddleford right in his stomach which was still partially bruised. He grunted as he fell to the floor, but Squalor caught him by grabbing his hair and propping him up against a wall. He virulently pummeled Fiddleford's face with punches one after the other. There was only about a second between each punch. Soon, Fidds couldn't even feel his face anymore. He could feel the warmth of blood gushing from his nose and ears. He let out a few screams as Squalor kicked him right where his fractures were and threw him around the room with demonic strength. Fidds' blurred vision spotted the flash of a knife followed by the string of a blade running down his back. Squalor muffled his cries as he carved up his back and torso with a hunting knife. He then threw Fidds down to the ground with a hard smack across his face with his knuckles. As Fidds trembled and sniffled on the floor, Squalor licked the blood from the knife with a sinister smile. Fiddleford could feel blood all over his broken body as he tried to crawl away. Red was taking over his vision as blood ran into his eyes. He gave a weak yelp as Squalor stomped on the middle of his back, pinning him there.   
"Where do you think you're going? Not that it matters, I hear sirens approaching, so I'm outta here. You and your boyfriend are about to be reunited, but first..."   
Squalor relentlessly stabbed Ford's sides and thighs with the hunting knife before exiting his mind. Ford stumbled and fell to the floor by Fidds, dropping the knife. The sounds of Fidds struggling and sobbing snapped him out of the daze. Despite the stab sounds, he quickly crawled over to Fiddleford's side.   
"Fidds! Oh my god...what happened to you??" Ford gingerly held Fidds.   
"St-Stanford..." Fidds slurred as he began to drift off.   
"Fidds? Fidds...Fiddleford!"   
Ford desperately shook him, but the other agent was already passed out. Ford cried as he held his broken body close, not knowing if Fiddleford was even still breathing. When the paramedics showed up, Ford was begging them to help his partner. They pulled him apart from Fiddelford and helped him to the awaiting ambulance as he sobbed and continued to ramble on about saving Fidds. The last thing he saw before the sedatives knocked him out was Fidds lying on the stretcher beside him: bruised and bloodied. 

Ford jolted up from his sedated sleep, instantly wincing at sharp pains from his sides. The nurse was trying to get him to lie back down.   
"Agent Pines! Please, try to calm down. You'll rip the stitches if you move too much."   
Ford lied back on the bed, but his heart was still pounding, remembering Fidds.   
"Where's my partner...McGucket?? Is he okay?" he asked, desperation clear in his voice.   
"He's in ICU right now, but the doctor assures me that he'll be fine," she said as she injected more morphine into Ford's I.V.   
"What happened to him? All I remember is waking up and seeing him collapsed on the floor," Ford muttered, his eyelids growing heavy.   
"Well, and I don't know if I should be telling you this, but he has blunt force trauma injuries all over from being punched and thrown around. He also has multiple lacerations from a knife. We found..a lot of his blood on your hands. There are many suspicions on you but because of your own injuries and lack of prints on the knife, you're in the clear for now."   
Her words began to make murky memories resurface. he was watching himself hurt Fidds, though he didn't have control. It was Squalor controlling his body while he watched helplessly.   
"Wh-what..how could I let this happen?" Ford said weakly as the morphine kicked in, forcing him to drift off once more with tears dripping from his eyes. 

"WE'RE LOSING HIM!" the doctor shouted as the heart monitor flat lined. Fidds lay on the table: limp and unmoving. "Give him five milligrams. And charge it up. We're trying this again," she held both nodes of the defibrillator in her hands.   
"Clear!" she warned before placing them on Fiddleford's bare chest. The electric pulse caused his body to jolt and heave upwards. The doctor breathed a sigh of relief as a faint pulse resumed. The nurses gently moved him from the table over to a hospital bed.   
"Let's keep him in ICU for a little while just to keep an eye on him and make sure he stabilizes. And start a blood transfusion right away."   
"Poor guy. He's really beat up. Think he'll be okay?"   
"He's stronger than he looks. Now that he's finally stabilizing with the blood transfusion, he should be alright. Let me know when his partner is awake. I'd like to inform him of McGucket's condition. He should at least know that he's going to be fine."


	10. You Owe Me Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 10 finally! Sorry for the wait, I was busy with exams for a bit, but I finally got around to updating it! ^^ Hope you all are enjoying the holidays! (bit of a shorter chapter. Just thought at the end was a good stopping place.)  
> Warnings for a bit of gore in the beginning and a few depictions of violence.

Ford found himself in a strange world that he couldn’t seem to recognize or wrap his mind around. The sky above him was blood red and the air even smelled of the coppery scent along with what Ford could only pinpoint as entrails. Trees surrounded him in a vast forest; however, these trees moved about in a globular manner like they were made of some black liquid. He tried poking at one but nearly had his entire hand engulfed in it, being pulled in by the dark liquidy slime. A cold sweat was beginning to form around his temples, hearing echoing screams that seemed to be coming from everywhere. He covered his ears with his hands, desperately attempting to block them out, but it was as if they were seeping into his own mind. Ford thought he was going to go mad until the screams ceased and were replaced by a single voice all too familiar to him. Tentatively gazing up, the trees in front of him swirled together to form a gigantic shadowy figure with piercing blue eyes that gazed straight into his soul. A crooked smile crossed its face, a laugh forming from its throat.  
“Ohh, I haven’t had that much fun in a while, Pines! I must thank you for the use of your body. Your partner sure can take a beating,” it smiled with glee, nearly laughing uncontrollably.  
Ford took a few steps back, glaring at the thing. “Squalor. What more do you want from me?” Ford shouted, his voice hoarse as he strained his vocal chords.  
“Oh, nothing really. There’s no need to shout. You’re asleep right now, so what do you think of my dimension? Pretty shitty, right? All it is is blood skies and ground and globular forests all around. Your dimension is so colorful and doesn’t reek of blood and gore. That’s why I like it much better and possess humans to be able to taste and smell it. Beating the shit out of lil Fiddleford gave me sensations I haven’t felt in ages. And oh, seems that you’re waking up. Good luck sorting out the mess I put you in,” Squalor’s voice had a razor edge to it that cut deep into Ford’s brain. While it continued to point and laugh, Ford rolled around in the blood and gore ridden ground, doubled over in pain with each word it spoke. The horror dimension warped and fell apart around him as his mind waked and snapped him back into reality.  
Ford sat bolt upright, sweat dripping down his chin. He immediately cried out in pain as his muscles protested in a multitude of stings and piercing pain from the lacerations. He sunk back down gasping. Opening his eyes, he found that both his wrists were handcuffed to the hospital bed.  
“What the..” he breathed, trying to struggle against the cuffs.  
Adrenaline from the all too real nightmare still coursed through him. All he was thinking was finding Fiddleford to make sure he was okay or at least still alive. He forcibly pushed those thoughts out of his mind. “No, he is alive. He has to be.” The door opening caused him to cease struggling. He whispered a silent, “Shit,” as the assistant director entered the room.  
“Well, Agent Pines. Looks like we got ourselves a situation,” he sounded almost too calm as he sat down beside Ford’s bed.  
“A.D.! I didn’t do that to McGucket. You have to believe me! It’s because of what’s going on in this town. It’s all in the X File. I know this is going to make me sound crazy, but along with the slender man, there’s this other entity, and it possessed me,” Ford’s speech was gradually becoming more and more incoherent as he blabbered on about all that had happened.  
“Pines,” was all he had to say to silence Ford.  
“I want to believe you, but you know that’s not going to fly in a court of law.”  
Ford clenched his fists in the cuffs, gazing down at his lap in frustration.  
“But…I’m making this an FBI matter to keep the local law enforcement off your back. The only proof they have against you is your having McGucket’s blood on you, but that could mean a lot of things. So, you’re basically off the hook for now.”  
Ford’s eyes lit up as he looked up at the Assistant Director. “Sir, th-thank you!” Ford sniffled a bit.  
“Alright, no need to get sentimental on me, but the two of you still have to finish up this case. That’ll be your end of the bargain.”  
“Oh, McGucket! I-Is he alright? Last time I saw him, he was dying, bleeding out right next to me,” Ford looked down in horror at his hands, which still had faint blood stains etched on them.  
“He’s out of ICU and stable now. From what I hear, they almost lost him but were able to stabilize him with an emergency blood transfusion,” he looked over by the door and stood up, leaning in close to Ford. “You say something possessed you? And I wouldn’t doubt it with the amount of damage McGucket took..inhuman in a way.”  
Ford nodded. “And I had to watch the whole thing. That ‘thing’ had control over my limbs, and all I could do was watch. God, it was horrible,” Ford couldn’t even bury his face in his hand as he began to weep quietly.  
The assistant director placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’ll have to keep the handcuffs on you for now as a formality. I’m going to check in on McGucket again.”  
Ford nodded silently as tears dripped down onto his lap.  
Fiddleford cracked his eyes open, squinting at the bright sunlight. He groaned at the aches as he tried moving around. His face still felt a bit heavy and swollen, and he didn’t even want to see what his torso and back looked like. He winced as he remembered the sting of the knife raking down his back, slicing right through his skin.  
“Ah, good, you’re awake, McGucket.”  
Fiddleford gasped as the assistant director entered the room, quietly closing the door behind him. “S-sir? What are you doin here” he tried to resist the urge to sit up, knowing he’d regret it.  
“I just talked with Agent Pines. You were asleep when I went in here last, so I thought I’d check in on you later. And don’t worry about Pines. I’ve got everything sorted out with the local law enforcement. You two will be finishing up the case when you feel up to it,” he informed.  
“How’ is Pines?? Is he alright?” Fidds blurted out.  
“Much better off than you. They might discharge him today. I’ll make sure he gets to see you..I think he’s pretty torn up about what happened. Probably blames himself for it.”  
“No, no. It wasn’t his fault at all. He was tricked and taken advantage of. Um, thank you, sir..for helping us with sorting out this mess,” Fidds mumbled, his lips still feeling a bit numb. “So, how bad do I look?”  
“They have you all cleaned up, so not too bad. Your cheeks are a bit swollen, and you have a black eye along with a few stitches above your left eyebrow. I’m sure a lot of the damage is underneath your hospital gown,” he grimaced saying that. “Well, I’ll leave you to rest. There are still a few things I have to sort out. I had yours and Pines’ stuff moved to this room,” he gestured over by a few chairs where their duffles sat. “I’m guessing Pines will do his work here with you. Well, I wish you a speedy recovery, Agent McGucket,” he waved at the agent before taking his leave.  
Once he left, Fidds couldn’t help but think about Ford: was he having nightmares, does he really blame himself for this? They spun around in his head until he had to force himself to think about something else. “I need to focus on recovering,” was the mantra he told himself.  
Just as the assistant director had said, Ford was discharged in the evening, glad to finally be free of the handcuffs. He rubbed at his wrists once they were removed. His stomach and thighs still felt stiff and at first, he had to walk at a slow pace or it felt like his skin was being roughly tugged at. The first thing he asked was where McGucket’s room was and immediately made his way over there, refusing help when the nurses offered it. The one thought running through his mind was Fiddleford and nothing would deter him from reuniting with his partner.  
Ford nearly broke down by just seeing his partner alive and somewhat well. When he entered the room, Fiddleford was working on something on his laptop. A tiny gasp escaped his throat when he saw Ford standing there.  
“Stanford! I-I’m so glad..you’re okay,” Fiddleford immediately began choking up, having to push his laptop away to keep the tears from dripping on it. Ford tentatively approached him and lightly took his hand, as if he was afraid he would accidentally hurt Fiddleford further.  
“Why is your touch so timid, honey?” Fidds looked up at him, gently stroking Ford’s hand with his fingers.  
“I…I just don’t want to hurt you. I’m..I’m so sorry, Fiddleford. I was weak and let that demon into my mind. Honest, I didn’t mean to but..” Ford was sniffling, trying to hold back the tears, but it was no use. “I had to watch. I could only watch as he made my fists hit you over and over again. And the knife..oh god the knife…I..” Ford couldn’t hold it back any longer. He knelt by Fidds’ bed, sobbing violently as he still held onto his partner’s hand. Fiddleford gave his hand a tiny squeeze, grinding his teeth as he forced himself to bend over a bit to run his fingers through Ford’s hair. He pet Ford’s head, letting him weep and sob until he couldn’t anymore. Once his crying quieted, Ford looked back up at Fidds, eyes puffy and red.  
“I must be the worst partner ever. You keep getting seriously hurt while I walk away with minor injuries. I’m sorry I always fuck everything up,” Ford mumbled as he rested his head by Fidds’ lap, letting Fidds continue to pet him.  
“It’s probably because of my rationalism and science. I’m always unaware of the supernatural, unlike you,” Fiddleford replied in a soft voice.  
“You’re wrong, you know,” Ford said suddenly, their eyes meeting. “That’s exactly what’s saved us. Before I had you as a partner, I would jump straight into danger without a second thought. But..in a way, being with you has made me a better person. I owe you everything for that.”  
“Stanford,” Fiddleford tore his gaze away, not knowing what to say.  
Ford stood up, cupping Fiddleford’s cheek ever so gently. “And you owe me nothing.” Ford tenderly kissed him on the forehead. “You don’t owe me a single thing,” he whispered.  
Inside that hospital room, it was as if the whole world was still. No wind pushed around the shadowy trees outside. No one strolled beneath the streetlights. Everything was still in a frozen like state as the two of them held each other, just listening to their beating hearts and knowing that they were both alive…so very much alive.


	11. The Mysterious Book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next chapter! I'm super excited to write the next arc, so I should be updating this fic..I'll shoot for once a week or so. Brief depictions of violence just as a warning. And Bill returns! Dun dun dun... enjoy! ^^

Fiddleford was discharged from the hospital the next day with a prescription of painkillers. Ford helped him with slipping his suit back on. He was ever so careful, especially around his still healing ribs. He glanced to the side, seeing the dark purple bruises that blotted his torso. Fidds slid his hand over Ford’s shaking one.   
“Hey, it’s okay. I know you won’t hurt me,” he gave him a small grin.   
Ford smiled back and nodded. He squeezed his hand as they walked out of the hospital. The harsh sunlight hit Ford’s eyes, causing him to squint.   
“So, what’s our next move?” Fiddleford asked, adjusting his glasses a bit.   
“Um, look Fidds. I think maybe we should split up for the rest of this investigation. You’re still injured. Maybe you should do some research around town here. See if you can find out more on this slenderman thing as well as the cult. Interview some people to find out more about it. I’m going to investigate the meeting site further. We’ll cover more ground this way, you know?” Ford kept his eyes forward as he spoke.   
Fiddleford groaned a bit. He knew Ford was right, splitting up would help them cover more ground, but he always worried about him whenever they did.   
“Yeah..you’re right, but please, don’t hesitate to call me if you need me. Same goes for me.”   
Ford looked over at him and smiled. “Of course, McGucket. Keep me updated on anything you find out,” Ford said as they stopped at a corner.   
He took Fidds’ hand and lightly kissed it. “Good luck.”   
They then took off in opposite directions: Fidds heading to the library and Ford to the woods. Ford first stopped by the hotel to drop off their things,then he took the car over to the edge of the forest. It was as eerie as ever. Outside of it, the wind blew and birds were singing; however, as soon as he entered past the thick brush and line of trees, everything went quiet. It was like going through some thick, velvet curtain that muffled everything around him. He swore he could hear Squalor’s familiar cackle as he trudged through toward the meeting place. It felt like millions of eyes were on him, creating a cold sweat that beaded up around his temples and the back of his neck. He kept his mind on guard, not wanting a repeat of last time. He stopped once he was in front of the modules.   
“If you think you can trick me again, Squalor, you’re sorely mistaken,” he shouted into the empty air and trees.   
“Haha! Who’s Squalor?” he heard the voice all around him. It sounded like something he had heard before.   
“Wait..I know this voice..show yourself!”   
A sudden blue flame appeared. Ford instinctively shielded his face but found no heat emanating from it. Two yellow lines connected to form a triangle. Inside, a huge red eye with a diamond shaped slit for a pupil gazed down at him. It was the triangular entity from Gravity Falls. It towered in front of him, grey with one red eye looking right through him. The burning tree stayed behind it.   
“Lovely to see you again, Stanford Pines. Hmm, you seem to be in a bit of a pickle.” Its voice was demonic sounding like it was a mix of a bunch of different voices in one. Ford cowered before it, covering his ears, trying to block it out.   
“Oh, my apologies. I suppose this form is rather frightening to you humans. How’s..this?”   
It shrunk down until it was about the size of Ford’s head. Its voice was more normal sounding, still off putting but not booming in his mind. The eye was white and its body a glowing yellow. It had tiny black arms and legs along with a top hat.   
Holding out a tiny hand it spoke, “Is this better? I don’t believe I’ve properly introduced myself. The name’s Bill Cipher, and I already know you’re Stanford Pines.”   
Ford backed away a bit, keeping his hands close to him. “Oh, hi, I guess. So, what do you want?” Ford kept his voice firm.   
“Ah, you cut right to the chase. I like that! Well, I couldn’t help but notice the little problem you’re having with ol’ slendy, and you should know, the only way to defeat him is to banish him back to his own nightmare dimension. And that’ll take something like, I dunno..the blood of a cult leader.” Bill slowly circled around him, his eye always watching.   
“How do you know that?” Ford had his fists balled up, watching the triangle circle him.   
“Oh, I know LOTS of things about the multiverse. Things that’ll go right over your head, even for a genius like you! It needs to be someone connected to slendy, and a cult leader is perfect!”   
“Well, if that’s the case, I don’t need your help. My partner is finding out more on the cult. Once he finds out who the leaders are, we’ll be set. I trust in his research.”   
“Oh, yeah, your cute little partner. He can really take a punch, can’t he? Haha! Well, anyway, I just wanted to check in on you, and..help you out a bit. I hope I can ‘help’ you more in the future. I just want to be a friend to you, six fingers.”   
Bill now floated in front of him, a bright blue light forming behind him.   
“See ya later!”   
A sudden flash of light temporarily blinded Ford as he shrieked and fell to the ground. He rubbed his eyes as he picked himself back up, his eyesight slowly returning. The atmosphere was the same as it was before, as silent as ever. Ford immediately dialed Fidds’ number right away. He needed to tell him about this.   
“Fidds!! I just found out something huge, and something really weird just happened!” he talked quickly, blurting it out before Fidds even finished saying “McGucket.”   
“Oh, uh, that’s great! What’d you find out? And what happened? Are you okay??”   
“Me? Yeah, I’m fine. Okay, so I haven’t told you about this yet, but I saw this weird triangle entity or demon or whatever in Gravity Falls, and it appeared to me again. Oddly enough, it told me how to banish slenderman back into his own dimension. We need a cult leader to do it, though it didn’t explain how to do it, but it’s better than nothing, I guess, though I don’t really trust that thing, and I’m unsure of its intentions. But yeah, that’s what happened. So, what have you found out?”   
“I’m actually about to interview someone who claims to know who one of the leaders is. I’ve also found an interesting book on the subject from the local supernatural club in the library. If what you say is true, I think this book should tell us how to do it...and I’m not quite sure how they managed to get a hold of this book. It has a knife inside of it.”   
“Oh, really? That’s great! Well, good luck. I’m at the site now, so I’ll do a bit of investigating here, then head back into town.”   
“Sounds like a plan..see ya then!”   
“See ya!”   
Ford began pursuing the site once he hung up. 

“Sorry about that, miss. That was my partner. Now, how do you know that the mayor is a cult leader?” Fidds asked, returning to the task at hand.   
He was hitting a major breakthrough in the case as he interviewed the mayor’s secretary. He could tell she was extremely nervous. Her eyes shifted around everywhere except Fiddleford, small tremors coursed through her hands, and her voice trembled as her lips did.   
“I-I saw that thing in his office one night when I was here late. He..he didn’t know I was here. I had come back because I had forgotten something. Then, I saw that horrible suited, faceless monster towering over the mayor in his office right in front of the huge window. The mayor was...uh sounded like he was talking to it, but in a strange language that I had never heard before. It didn’t..it didn’t sound like a human talking.” She shook more violently now as she recalled the memories. Fiddleford placed a hand on top of hers, squeezing a bit and smiling at her, doing his best to comfort her.   
“You’re doing great! Take a deep breath, and tell me what happened next,” Fidds instructed in a soft voice.   
She did as he said, filling her lungs up with oxygen as much as she could before continuing.   
“That thing looked like it noticed me watching them. It tilted its head to the side. I panicked and sprinted over to my own office, slamming the door behind me. The mayor must not have noticed, well since I’m still here obviously. When I was leaving, I noticed his office was empty: no sign of him or the monster. I looked around a bit, then went inside. I found an interesting paper on his desk, and I wrote down what was on it on this.”   
She handed Fidds a piece of printer paper. There were dates and times written as well as a list of names. He gulped as he spotted him and Ford’s names on it, though next to Ford’s in parenthesis was written “conduit.”   
“You think these are their meeting times?”  
“Yes, I believe so. The names corresponding with the meeting times must be sacrifices or people important to that meeting and ritual,” she responded. She kept her eyes focused on the carpet.   
Fidds’ heart nearly stopped as he noticed their names were for tonight’s meeting.   
“Well, thank you very much! This will definitely aid in our investigation. I’d better be going. I think my partner wants to meet up soon. Have a nice rest of your day!”   
He nearly yelped as she suddenly grabbed his wrist. A dull, yet still sharp pain ran down his arm from his still healing injuries. She gazed up at him, her eyes oddly empty looking.   
“Take care of yourself, agent,” was all she said before letting go.   
Fiddleford backed away slowly, fumbling for the doorknob behind him. He didn’t take his eyes off of her for a second. He practically ran out of the building, stopping to catch his breath when he reached the sidewalk. Once he looked around, he noticed almost everyone staring at him. He began walking towards the library again, keeping his briefcase with the occult book in it close to him. There was something about the townspeople's’ eyes he didn’t like..didn’t trust. After traversing a good number of blocks, he glanced behind him every now and then and noticed the same group of people following him. A few more blocks down, and he was starting to get annoyed. He whipped around suddenly, causing the group to stop in their tracks.   
“Why are you following me?” he asked.   
He lightly kept a hand by his holster. They didn’t answer at first, looking around and whistling, trying to look nonchalant, but Fidds wasn’t having it.   
“Look, I’m a federal agent, so I know when I’m bein’ purposefully followed, so you better tell me what business y’all have with me,” his southern drawl really started to show. It always did when he was mad or anxious.   
“Agent McGucket, correct?” he heard a deep voice behind him.   
As soon as he felt a hand grab him, he instinctively yanked his gun out, promptly spinning around, as best he could, and pointing his gun at the attacker. A rather tall, muscular man stood in front of him, now with his hands raised in the air with a look of surprise on his face. Fiddleford stepped to the side and motioned with his gun for him to join the other group. They all glared at him, whispering amongst each other, surprised that the injured agent could still move so quickly. Fiddleford noticed the sun hanging low on the horizon, the sky starting its usual color transitions with dusk approaching.   
“Alright, listen up! Y’all are going to take me to your meeting site. I know you have a meeting tonight.”   
He decided he better call Ford and notify him of the change in plans. However, it rang and rang but eventually went into Ford’s voicemail. Fidds hung up with a look of concern. Ford not answering his phone meant something was wrong..something was very wrong. He gritted his teeth and turned his attention back over to the group.   
“Lead the way..come on!” his voice turned harsh as he imagined Ford must’ve gotten into some trouble at the site.   
The group begrudgingly led Fidds over there, grumbling the whole way. Fiddleford kept his wits about him as he followed them into the forest, keeping his gun up and eyes sharp. He could already spot the bonfire raging like an inferno at the top of the hill. It cast a glow upon the trees that reminded Fiddleford of some kind of dream. He gasped quietly as he spotted Ford right away. He was lying by the great fire, unconscious on the ground. His hands were bound behind his back. Fidds spotted the mayor, aka the cult leader, easily. He wore a black mask adorned with some kind of red colored designs. He pulled out the book from his briefcase and flipped to the bookmarked spot. He quickly read through what he needed to do in order to banish the thing back to its own dimension, but he needed to wait until it showed up, not to mention get Ford out of the circle as well. Fidds instructed the cult members to go over there and not say a word about his watching them with his gun out. They sighed indignantly and walked over, Fidds staying hidden in the brush. They mayor seemed to be visibly upset and irritated that they didn’t have Fidds with them but seemed to brush it off since they had Ford. Fiddleford prepared himself, pulling out a small dagger with a black blade that was hidden in the book. He winced as he drew some blood to coat the blade as the book instructed. Crouching with the knife poised, he waited for slenderman to appear. After the familiar chanting, the flames of the fire turned gray with black flame in the middle. Slenderman appeared in the middle of it, the expressionless face illuminated by the flames lapping at its feet. Its tentacles wound through the air, growing ever more closer to Ford, helpless on the ground. That’s when Fiddleford pounced from the bushes. As he entered the circle, cries of alarm filled the air from the cult members. He wasted no time in running right up to the mayor and stabbing him squarely in the shoulder. The other man cried out and nearly grabbed Fidds, but he ducked down as he pulled the dagger out, now coated in his and the mayor’s blood. He dodged around tentacles, shooting them when they came too close, blowing them to smithereens. He had no time to waste, so he simply dragged Ford by his jacket until they were outside the circle. Adrenaline still pumped through his veins as he gasped for breath and his ribs started to burn.   
“This all ends here!” his voice boomed through the stagnant air. “You will no longer terrorize this town!”   
Fiddleford could’ve sworn that in this moment, time slowed down. He watched the dagger drop, each time it spun through the air, little droplets of blood sliding off the blade, which seemed to take forever until it finally landed on the circle markings with a clatter. The circle suddenly lit up in a multitude of colors and a sound that sounded like thousands of voices calling out. Fiddleford cried out as the blast knocked him backwards as he tripped over Ford, a blinding light overtaking his vision as he saw the ground beneath slenderman and the cult disappear, and they fell until they were out of sight.


	12. Mothman's Prophecy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back with another chapter! Warnings for violence and abuse in this one.   
> Enjoy!

Ford sputtered and coughed as he began to wake up. Unlike earlier, it was dead silent around him. The deafening roaring sound was gone, replaced by the familiar rustling of the dying leaves on the trees and scattered about on the ground. Looking up, he saw his partner standing there, his eyes shifting around in a nervous state.   
“Wh-what happened?” he groaned as he got back on his feet.   
Fiddleford helped him with regaining his balance, then quietly shushed him and pointed over towards the dying bonfire. The glowing embers shifted about in the wind, springing forth glowing lights like fireflies that quickly vanished.   
“Most of em’ got consumed or killed by that slenderman thing. We need to get back to town. I grabbed a book with all of the members’ names and identities. We can hand that over to the police and let them take care of the rest. As for this slenderman mystery, quite frankly, I don’t want to know anything else. Let’s get back to town, but let’s be sneaky about it in case there are still dangers about,” Fidds whispered, holding Ford’s hand as he shivered from the adrenaline rush. Ford blinked a few times before he registered what Fidds said.   
“Wait..you saved me, didn’t you?” he asked as they began their way back to town.   
“Yup! That was me. I can’t believe I did all that. I think that slenderman and Squalor got sent back to their dimension for now.”   
He smiled at Ford while still pulling him along. They managed to make it into town without any trouble and promptly handed the small book over to the sheriff. Within the next few days, they were both on their way back to HQ in D.C. 

“Agent Pines..would you mind explaining to me how on every assignment now, Agent McGucket ends up seriously injured?” the assistant director’s tone was in its usual, close to boiling point anger.   
Fiddleford was about to speak up when Ford interjected, “It’s entirely my fault, sir. I wasn’t looking out for my partner when I should’ve been. Please, don’t blame McGucket for any of it. I understand if you’re thinking about reassignment, but I would rather stay and have McGucket as my partner.”   
The assistant director looked back and forth at the two before sighing, “Alright alright. Truth is, together you two are some of my best agents. You get your investigations done rather quickly and successfully. McGucket’s reports are informative and you two, for some reason, really draw in the supernatural, which makes you perfect for the x files. I guess, Pines, just look after your partner better. Keep him safe. He’s been hurt enough.”   
Ford nodded, grinning as he looked over at Fidds. “But don’t relax yet. I actually have another investigation for you two to conduct.” He handed an x file over to Ford. “Strange occurrences that can’t be explained are happening across the country, but they’ve been concentrated in this one town in New Jersey.”   
He indicated the location by pointing to it on a map. Ford’s eyes widened as he flipped through the file.   
“Red eyes..strange dreams..an angel..Mothman?”   
“Yes, apparently that’s the creature that they think it is. So, I need you two there right away. Dismissed.”   
Both barked a “yes sir” then headed out the door.   
Instead of his usual napping on the plane ride, Ford was pouring through the x file.   
“So, Stanford, what’s so particularly interesting about this x file?” Fidds asked, attempting to soothe his boredom.   
“Oh, well, I just think it’s weird how this is in my hometown,” he replied. It took him a few seconds to answer Fidds.   
“Wait, wait, wait..this is in your hometown?” he asked, a bit bewildered.   
“Yeah, which is why I’m a bit worried. In the legends, Mothman is an angel of warning. It warns people of a coming tragedy through cryptic signs, hallucinations, and dreams. I’m not sure what to expect really.”   
Fiddleford gently grabbed onto Ford’s hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “Well, whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.”   
Ford gave him a small peck on his nose smiling at him. “Thanks..for always being here for me.” 

It was pouring down rain when they arrived in a main city and taking about an hour drive to Glass Shard Beach. They arrived at the motel early, taking some time to settle in and relax. Late afternoon sunlight filtered into the room through the slanted blinds, displaying bars of light all over the floor and up the walls.   
“So, do you wanna start the investigation? We can always start tomorrow if you just want to take it easy,” Fiddleford said as he set up his laptop on the desk.   
Ford looked over at him with tired eyes, already beginning to nod off.   
“I’m just going to take a little nap, Fidds. Flights really exhaust me,” he yawned as he placed his glasses on the night stand.   
Fiddleford walked over, tucked him in and kissed his forehead. “Sweet dreams.”   
He did the same, getting into the other bed and quickly falling asleep, though as his eyes began to close, he could’ve sworn that he saw two red eyes staring at him from the window and a strange presence in the room. 

Ford found himself standing by the side of a road at night. The stars shone brightly above him and a full moon lit up the area in a ghostly glow. The heat and humidity were quite oppressive. As Ford began to walk along the road for reasons he wasn’t sure, he could feel his clothes sticking to him like someone had poured warm water over him. He was wondering where he was even walking to when the still air was broken by the revving of heavy engines. Ford turned a curve and saw three trucks packed in a semi circle. People, men specifically, were hottin’ and hollerin’ about, dancing with fists balled up. As Ford came closer, he heard weak whimpering that escalated into yelps sometimes. At first, Ford thought they were beating a dog from the sounds, but when he spotted the victim, it was a young boy, probably in his teenage years. Ford only watched in horror as they kicked and beat him without mercy. Blood sputtered from the boy’s mouth and nose, pooling around his face and hair. He heard unmistakable homophobic slurs spew out of their mouths drunkenly. Finally, after a few more minutes, the attackers tired. They hopped back into their trucks, spitting at the boy before driving off leaving him with only the moon to light his way. The boy sputtered and hacked as he struggled to get on his feet. Ford ran over to him and helped him to his feet.   
“Hey, are you-” he immediately stopped as it was a young Fiddleford he was looking at. His face was battered and bloodied, but he knew it was Fiddleford. Suddenly, everything disappeared in front of him, and he was engulfed in a red light. When he opened his eyes again, he was in a house. He wandered down the hallway a bit and froze when he heard a squeaky voice with a distinct southern accent.   
“Fidds…” he thought.   
He peeked into the bedroom through the crack in the opened door. He saw Fiddleford, still beat up looking, so this must’ve been not long after the previous incident. A woman sat on the bed with a sympathetic look on her face.   
“She must be his mom,” he thought.   
“I just can’t go back to school, mom! I just can’t do it..not after what’s happened. Just homeschool me or something. It’s better than going back there where everyone knows I’m a homo now,” he sobbed as he paced around the room.   
His mother stood up and hugged him tightly, kissing his forehead.   
“My Fiddleford..if that’s what you think is best for your safety, then we’ll do it,” she hummed and held him close to her, trying to calm him down.   
Ford wanted to see more but was soon engulfed by the red light again.   
“Damaged but not broken,” a voice said.   
Something about it didn’t sound altogether human.   
“A-are you Mothman?” Ford asked into the red light.   
“Tomorrow, go to where the eyes watch you…”   
“Wait! What does that mean?”   
Ford woke up, practically in a puddle of sweat. He breathed hard as he whipped the covers off of him. Looking over at Fiddleford, he felt a dull ache in his chest.   
“Oh, Fidds…” 

Fiddleford’s dreams were meticulously guided as well. Fiddleford found himself in a classroom. In front of him were two teenagers. He recognized Ford right away by the glasses. The other must’ve been Stan. Ford was visibly upset. He gripped onto the paper he was holding so tightly that his knuckles turned white.   
“Look, Stanford..it’ll be okay. He might not even ask about it,” Stan tried his best to comfort him.   
“I know he will! It’s marked on the calendar that I’m getting my test back today, so he already knows...and soon he’ll know that I got a B. What am I going to do, Stanley?” Ford sniffled. His face was full of fear like a shadow had ghosted over it. Fiddleford was about to say something when the scene twisted and morphed in front of him to the inside of an apartment. Young Ford was handing the graded test to his father, the paper shaking in his hand but suddenly stilled by his father’s firm hand. Their mother had already pulled Stanley into another room, afraid for what Filbrick might do if he tried to interfere. She held onto Stanley tightly, fearing for her other son. Filbrick’s jaw immediately tightened and his sudden grip crinkled up the paper.   
“A B?” he asked in a near growl. “A damn B??”   
His voice echoed through the room like resounding thunder. The test was crinkled up into a ball and promptly threw it on the floor and crushed it under his foot. What followed after was complete silence, silence that stabbed into a soul deeply, save for Ford’s whimpering.   
“I-I’m sorry, dad! I tried..I really did..” Ford couldn’t find the courage to meet his eyes. “Please, I don’t want to have to wear the turtleneck for days on end again.”   
He began to back away as he spotted his father grabbing for his belt, a movement he was all too familiar with. He desperately tried to run over to where his brother and mother were but a strong grip on the back of his collar yanked him back, causing him to gag in surprise. Fiddleford so desperately wanted to defend Ford, run over to Filbrick and clock him right in his face, but some force in his dream was keeping him in place. He watched in horror as Ford was thrown into another room, his father slipping off his belt and locking the door behind him. The last thing he remembered was hearing Ford’s cries for him to stop before the scene shifted again. He was now in a darkened bedroom. A bunk bed sat over by the window with moonlight filtering into the room, shrouding the room in a faint light. Ford laid on the top bed while Stan was on the bottom one. Ford wore a red sweater and was wrapped up in himself. To Fiddleford, his eyes looked very..sad and far away, broken in a way. Stan appeared equally as distraught. He hugged his pillow close to him, squeezing it in his balled up fists.   
“It’ll..it’ll be okay, sixer. Soon, we’ll have the Stan O’ War done, and we can sail away from all...this. I promise,” his voice cracked a bit and his lip quivered in an attempt not to break down. Ford pulled the turtleneck over his face more.   
“Yeah, thanks, Stan..” he muttered before turning over.   
“I’m sorry..I wish I could fix this..” Stan buried his face and began softly crying into the pillow, crying for Ford, Ma, and their baby brother, Shermie.   
Fiddleford felt so empty and furious. Furious that Ford and Stan had gone through that abuse. He was surrounded by the red light once more and heard a voice that sounded like some sort of odd electric current. “Discourse and separation, but life is just a circle.”   
Fiddleford whipped his head around as if expecting to find someone...or something.   
“Wh-who are ya? Why did you show me that?”   
“It is needed to open your minds and bring the two of you closer. Your partner will need you.”   
Fiddleford was about to call out again when he suddenly woke up. Looking over, he saw Ford sitting up, staring wide eyed at him. Fiddleford knew he was giving him the same look.   
“Stanford, I…”   
“I saw what happened to you in high school. Mothman showed me, and I’m..guessing he showed you what happened to me.”   
Ford hesitated at first, then got up and sat next to Fidds. Without saying another word, he brought him into a tight hug. Fidds squeaked a bit but promptly hugged Ford back.   
“So, that’s what those marks I saw on you were from..I’m...I’m so sorry that happened to you,” he cried softly into his shoulder.   
“And I’m sorry for what happened to you. I wanted to deck all of those bastards, but I must say how infinitely proud I am of you for still finishing high school and going onto college.” 

They held onto each other for a long time, hours it seemed like even, until they finally parted. Ford kissed him on the lips, slowly and sensually, running his fingers through his hair, wanting him to feel loved.   
“It’s only ten o’clock, and I’m wide awake. Wanna get a late night meal?” he looked at Fidds with a loving smile. “I promise I know some of the best places..if they’re still open that is,” he chuckled, kissing Fidds’ lips again.   
Fiddleford blushed a deep red. It was strange. They just saw each other in some of their worst states, but somehow, they felt like their bond was even stronger now. They knew each other’s weaknesses and low points, but they truly felt like they were really together and stronger than ever. Outside, a pair of red eyes watched them, knowing that now, it could begin the warnings before the tragedy was upon them.


	13. The Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayy, I'm back! I'm on spring break, so I'll hopefully be writing a bit more than usual ^^  
> Thank you to everyone who has commented and provided feedback. I appreciate the comments :D   
> Warning for some smut in this one.

“Place where the eyes watch you? Where in Sam’s hill could that be?” Fiddleford asked as him and Ford walked to their first witness.  
“I honestly have no idea,” he replied.  
His usual keen eyes seemed far away like he was looking into another dimension. Fiddleford waved a hand in front of his face.  
“Well, you focus on decoding Mothman’s message. I’ll take care of the questions, alright?”  
As they passed an alley, Ford pulled Fidds into it by his collar.  
“Stanford, what are you-“  
Ford’s lips cut him off, melding with his deeply and needingly. Fidds soon relaxed and went in for the kiss. They made out gently but with passion. Ford instinctively pushed him against the wall, deepening the kiss and pushing them closer together. Fiddleford reluctantly broke the kiss when he felt a hand wandering up his thigh.  
“I-I’m sorry, Stanford. I’d love to continue this later at the motel, but we have work to do right now. I promise..later, okay?”  
He cupped Ford’s cheek and pecked his lips lovingly. It had been a bit since they’ve done anything intimate because of Fidds’ injuries. He was much more healed up now, and Ford was well aware of that. He hugged Fidds close.  
“Yeah, I know. I just want to give you so much love after seeing what happened to you in the past,” he whispered to him, brushing his bangs out of the way so he could kiss his forehead.  
Fidds felt a hot blush flash across his face. “Same for me..since I’ve seen what happened to you and Stan. I…know we’re on ‘investigation,’ but let’s make tonight intimate and…hot,” he whispered the last part in Ford’s ear, smiling giddily. Ford smirked in surprise.  
“Damn McGucket, that was pretty hot. I can’t wait,” he whispered back.  
Fiddleford led him out of the alley, and they continued down the street to the first witness on their list. They approached an apartment building with Fidds ringing the buzzer.  
“So, who’s our first witness?” Ford asked, straightening his tie a bit.  
“Carla McCorkle. She’s among the first to say she’s seen and dreamt of strange things aka: Mothman, red eyes and such,” Fiddleford replied, opening the door once it unlocked with a buzz.  
Fidds had to physically drag Ford inside since he suddenly froze up.  
“Stanford? Something wrong?” he asked, waving a hand in front of his face.  
“Carla? I knew her when I was in high school. Her and Stan dated for a while. I’m just..surprised is all. I wonder if she’ll recognize me.”  
“Hmm, well there’s only one way to find out.”  
Fidds continued to drag him along to the second floor. Only a second after he knocked on the door, a frightened sounding voice echoed from inside.  
“Wh-who’s there?”  
“Um, Miss McCorkle? We’re FBI agents. We’re investigating the strange disappearances and happenings in this town. I’m Agent McGucket, and I’m accompanied by my partner Agent Pines,” he called out.  
He held out his badge so she could see it from the door. Soon, the door clicked as multiple locks were undone. It cracked open and a woman with long, brown hair peeked out at the two agents. Her eyes widened when they met Ford’s.  
“You said Agent Pines..you wouldn’t happen to be Stanford, would you?” she asked, her voice timid and shaky.  
Fidds let Ford step forward. He held up a hand to show his six fingers. “Yeah, it’s me, Carla,” he assured in a gentle voice.  
She suddenly opened the door all the way and practically threw herself at Ford, embracing him in a tight hug.  
“I haven’t seen you since we were kids! I-I can’t believe it’s actually you.”  
She was nearly sobbing into his shoulder. Ford awkwardly wrapped an arm around her, patting her on the back and trying to comfort her the best he could.  
“Yeah, it’s me,” he chuckled.  
She pulled away after a bit, wiping away a few tears. “Well, come in, come in. And oh! I’m so sorry..you said you’re Agent McGucket, right?”  
She looked towards Fiddleford while ushering them both inside.  
“Oh, yes! Pardon me, I’m Fiddleford McGucket. Ford and I are partners at the FBI,” he informed.  
Carla had them sit down at a small couch with her sitting in a chair on the other side of the table that was there. She didn’t seem as skittish now, though Fidds knew she wasn’t their first witness for nothing. She had definitely seen some things.  
“So, Ford..I didn’t know you had become an FBI agent. That’s awesome!” she smiled at him, twiddling her thumbs as she talked.  
“Yeah, it was my way of sticking it to my dad. With my smarts, he wanted me to become a scientist and make millions, but I chose to become a Federal Agent instead,” Ford said with a proud smile  
“Haha, well, I think it suits you. You always did like solving mysteries,” she giggled.  
“Anyway, Carla, we can catch up later. McGucket and I came here for a reason. Our information indicates that you were among the first to report strange things happening to you, like sightings in the sky, missing time, and odd dreams,” Ford cleared his throat, getting down to business.  
Carla soon returned to her timid state, her eyes downcast, gaze glued to the floor.  
“Yes, it’s been getting worse. It started out with seeing a pair of red eyes from the shadows. Then, I began to hear whispering voices around me. I couldn’t make any of the words out..it was like a static of voices. That’s when the dreams started. They were so weird. I never understood them. It was just a bunch of flashing images and snippets of sentences. But one sentence always stuck out to me: the mighty will fall, and the terror will follow.”  
There were tears in her eyes that she quickly wiped away. “I..I don’t know what it means, but for some reason, I get so scared just thinking about it,” she quietly sobbed.  
Fidds reached over and offered her a tissue. She took it, whispering a small “thank you,” wiping her eyes.  
“Thank you, Carla. This information will really help us. We sort of have an idea of what this thing is, and we’re going to solve this case. The nightmares will be over soon. I promise,” Ford got back on his feet and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
She nodded, looking up at Ford with a grateful smile on her face.  
“Ford, can you tell me something..if you know that is?”  
Ford knelt down so his eyes were level with hers. “Of course. What do you want to know?”  
She thought a bit before answering, sniffling a bit. “Do..do you know where Stan is? I haven’t seen or heard from him since he left.”  
“I do actually. He lives in a small house in a town called Gravity Falls in Oregon. In fact, hold on a minute..”  
Ford pulled out his small memo pad and jotted down something. He then ripped it out and handed it to Carla. “Here’s his phone number. When you’re ready, you can call him. I’m sure he’d be ecstatic to hear from you,” he said softly, patting her shoulder as he stood back up. “You seem tired, so we’ll take our leave. We have some research to do for this investigation. And here,” he handed her his card with his number on it. “If you need anything, just call. Take care, Carla. Come on, McGucket.”  
Ford and Fidds exited the apartment, waving goodbye and closing the door behind them. Once they were back outside, Ford breathed a sigh of relief. “Geez, I didn’t expect to see Carla again. I didn’t know she still lived here.”  
“Well, she gave us some good information. Now we know Mothman’s main message that he’s telling people. Now, we have to figure out what it means,” Fidds sighed, reading the strange sentence.  
Ford smiled at him, ruffling his hair playfully. “Well, we’re basically the smartest agents in the FBI. Oh, hang on a minute, Fidds. I gotta make a quick phone call.”  
He pulled out his cell phone and tapped his foot as he waited for an answer.  
“Oh, hello, Stanley! How’s it going?”  
Fidds flashed him a curious look, smirking at him as he watched him talk to his brother.  
“Hey, so I’m actually on a case right now, and it’s in Glass Shard Beach! Can you believe it?”  
“Wow, really?? Seems like I haven’t been back there in, well, forever,” Stan chuckled.  
“Yeah! And guess who I just ran into? Carla McCorkle!”  
Stan went quiet for a bit before replying, “Oh, r-really?” Heh.”  
“Yeah, really. And..she was asking about you. You might be getting a phone call from her soon,” he teased.  
He could take a guess at how much Stan was blushing right now.  
“W-well thanks for the heads up, bro! I had no idea she still lived there.”  
“I wish you the best of luck, Stanley. Well, we can chat later. Fiddleford and I have much to do still. We have a lead of sorts, but still have some research to do. Talk to you later, bye!”  
Stan said his goodbye before Ford hung up.  
“Alright, let’s go interview the other witnesses.” 

They spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon interviewing the other witnesses. Their accounts were nearly the same as Carla’s. Each had strange dreams and recalled the same message and everyone recalled the same message from Mothman: “The mighty will fall, and the terror will follow.”  
Ford and Fiddleford took a break at a seaside restaurant, sitting out on the patio. The bright sunlight reflected off the dark blue waters of the Atlantic. Ford sat back, eyes closed and breathing a sigh of relief at finally being able to sit down.  
“I think we’ve reached a dead end as far as witnesses go. They’re all saying the same thing, and it’s not getting us anywhere. I think now is the time for some research. We need to try to decipher Mothman’s warning,” Ford muttered while downing some water.  
A bit of it dribbled down his jaw to his neck. Fidds chuckled as he took a napkin and wiped it off.  
“Yeah, you’re right. But man, I’m beat from running around. Wanna head back to the motel and take a break?”  
Fiddleford checked his watch, seeing that the time was four thirty. “Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe we could, uh, you know..do something,” Ford grinned, winking at him.  
“Hmph, maybe Pines..maybe,” Fidds winked back at him.  
The two of them filled their bellies up, then hurried back to the motel. Ford shed himself of his jacket and began loosening his tie and sat on the bed. Fiddleford thought for a bit, making sure the door was locked and doing the same with his jacket and tie.  
“Well, we did get a lot done today. I’m quite impressed, Pines,” he smirked as he strolled over in front of Ford.  
Ford felt his heart pounding. It’d been a while since they’ve done anything besides cuddle and kiss. He slid his glasses off his face and took Fidds’ as well, placing them both on the nightstand.  
“I’d say we’ve earned this, right, sugar?” Fidds practically purred, stroking Ford’s cheek.  
Ford could barely hold it in anymore. He felt an energy rising within him and a growing need to touch the other man.  
“Ye-yeah..I’d say so,” he gulped as his voice cracked.  
His hands reached up to grab Fidds’ hips, his mouth already watering. He greedily pulled Fidds down onto the bed, then rolling so he was on top of him. Fidds giggled at the blush on Ford’s face. He pulled Ford close to him by his tie, pressing their lips together. At first, it was just Fiddleford moving his lips around Ford’s stunned, still ones. Eventually, he snapped out of his daze and kissed Fidds back. Not long after, the kiss was already starting to get heated. Their mouths melded together, tongue meeting tongue as they made out deeply at the feel of Ford’s stubble rubbing against his face. Ford broke the kiss to smooch down Fidds’ jaw and to his neck, making sure to have his stubble rub against the soft skin.  
“Mmm, Ford,” Fidds moaned, clutching onto his fluffy, brown hair.  
Ford made quick work of stripping the clothes off of him, leaving his underwear for now. Each article was thrown onto the floor. Ford seductively licked his lips as he knelt in front of Fidds and stripped himself. Fiddleford slid a hand down and began touching himself, gently squeezing as he eyed Ford up and down.  
“God, you’re so hot,” he said in a low tone, licking his lips with his yes following the happy trail that led down to his crotch. Ford smirked as he slowly slid his underwear down, revealing his hardening cock and quickly throwing them on the floor. He knelt his head down between Fidds’ thighs, giving the soft skin tiny nips, letting his nose rub against the bulge in his underwear. He took the elastic band in his teeth and began pulling them down until they were completely off. His eyes raked over Fidds’ body, beginning to drool.  
“How I’ve waited to see this beautiful sight again.”  
He got back on top of him, making out hard again, hands wandering everywhere. Hips rocked against hips as they grinded against each other. Each felt pleasurable waves rush through them at the contact. Fidds began moaning as he was rocked against, trying to hold himself steady by clinging onto Ford’s strong arms, squeezing the muscle with glee. Ford freely nipped and bit at Fidds’ neck and chest, leaving many red marks as he could. Fidds yelped a bit at a few of the bites, craning his head back and panting.  
“Sorry, you just taste and feel so good,” he whispered in a husky tone.  
As Ford began to kiss down his chest and stomach, Fidds stopped him for a second.  
“W-wait! I kn-know a way where we can pleasure each other at the same time,” he panted while gently petting Ford’s head.  
“Oh? I think I know what you’re talking about, but enlighten me.”  
Fidds’ face was bright red now having to say it. “Um, w-we could sixty nine,” he muttered.  
A wide smile crossed Ford’s face. “Why, McGucket..I didn’t know you thought so dirty. I like it,” he chuckled, winking at him. Ford knelt on his knees, stroking himself until he was fully erect. He did the same to Fidds, gently gliding his fingers up and down his shaft and fondling his balls a bit as well. Once satisfied, he got into the position, lowering his crotch by Fidds’ face while his own mouth was hovering over his length. Fidds reached up, gently grabbing Ford’s cock, stroking him before taking the head of it into his mouth. Ford breathed out a couple of shaky breaths, feeling the other man’s tongue wrapping itself around his cock. He gulped before taking Fidds into his mouth, suckling at the head before slowly moving down. Muffled moans came from both of them as they pleasured each other. Ford’s hips instinctively rocked, pushing it further into Fidds’ mouth a bit. They both sucked and licked on each other, other hands stroking at the bases and fondling balls. A few minutes later, each felt the familiar rising feeling that meant they were coming close. They gazed at each other, nodding before they both came, ejecting hot seed into each other’s mouths. Fidds gasped for air, swallowing most of it while the rest spilled out of the corners of his mouth. Ford rolled off of him, breathing and catching his breath. He was trying to ground himself and recover from the orgasm. He looked over at Fiddleford, chuckling softly and scooching up close to him.  
“God, that was so good, Fidds. I missed doing stuff like that with you,” he said between breaths.  
Fiddleford rolled onto his side and let Ford wrap his arms around him, holding him close. He basked in the other man’s warmth and the afterglow of his orgasm.  
“I love you, Stanford,” he whispered to him.  
He was beginning to drift off into a peaceful sleep.  
“Love you too, Fiddleford,” Ford mumbled as he was doing the same.  
Both of them fell asleep, wrapped up in each other as the early evening began. 

Fidds woke up slowly, though he soon opened his eyes as felt Ford moving erratically.  
“Stanford? Stanford! Wake up!” he shouted.  
Ford was shaking and mumbling something under his breath. It took a slap across the face from Fidds to wake him up. Ford’s eyes slowly opened once he stopped shaking. “F-Fiddleford?” he asked, slurring his words a bit.  
“Yeah, baby, it’s me. You’re alright,” he cooed, stroking his fingers through his hair and across his jaw.  
Once Ford was all the way awake, he grabbed Fidds’ shoulders suddenly. “Fiddleford! In my dream, Mothman showed me the place where the eyes watch me. We need to go there right now!”  
He sprang out of bed and began putting his clothes back on wildly. Fidds wasn’t quite sure what he was babbling about, but he did the same, not bothering with the tie as Ford grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the car. No words were spoken between them as Ford drove through the city. He had an intense focus around him, eyes stuck on the road ahead of them. He finally stopped at a rather dark street. He ran to the other side of the door, helping Fidds out.  
“We’re here,” he whispered.  
Now, he seemed more like himself, perhaps Mothman had something to do with the extremely focused Ford. He led Fidds to a shop that as painted a dark purple. Blue lamps illuminated the outside of it. It looked like there was an apartment on the second floor where the shop keeper could live. Along the walls of the shop were countless eyes painted on it. They were all drawn in a way where it looked like they were watching visitors.  
“Place where the eyes watch you..huh, I suppose it does make sense,” Fidds muttered.  
Ford gulped as his hand rested on the door. “This place..feels familiar, like there’s a familiar presence here,” Ford whispered.  
He took a deep breath, his heart fluttering wildly and threatening to pop out of his chest. Finally, he gave a few hollow knocks on the door. A few seconds later, they could hear light footsteps making their way down a set of stairs and then to the door. Ford thought his heart would stop beating as he saw who opened the door. Already, tears were beginning to form in his eyes, his hands shaking uncontrollably as memories flooded into his mind.  
“M..mom?”


	14. The Angel Beckons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO I HAVE RETURNED   
> Phew, my semester is finally coming to an end. This week is finals week for me, so the next update might not be for a bit, but I plan on trying to update regularly. I at least wanted to update it this weekend between studying even if it is a bit of a short chapter ^^ but hey, it's the chapter before some actiony stuff happens. Hope you are all having great days and finals weeks if you're in school :D   
> -Brooke   
> P.S: thank you all for the kudos and comments. Please don't be afraid to leave a comment. I really love reading them!

Ford’s eyes went wide as he saw who stood in front of him. His brain was desperately trying to grasp at what to do or say as tears clouded and blurred his vision. Is this what mothman meant to happen? Had he meticulously led them here through dreams and signs so that Ford could see her again?   
“M-mom?” he asked again, his voice slightly cracking and quieter.   
As soon as she recognized him, tears fell from her eyes like a summer rain as she lunged forward suddenly and hugged him tightly. It was the hug of someone who was afraid to let go like Ford would be gone again if she let go.   
“Stanford. My Stanford,” she sobbed.   
She clung onto him, and Ford clung onto her. They hugged each other so tight, Fiddleford feared they’d fuse together. After a few minutes, that seemed to tick by so slowly, they parted.   
Ms. Pines gestured for the two of them to come in, looking at Fiddleford curiously. Fiddleford noticed and stood up straight.   
“Oh, um, sorry, how rude of me. I’m Stanford’s partner in the FBI. I’m Agent Fiddleford McGucket,” he managed to squeak out.   
“Uh, yeah! Um, he’s also, um my...romantic partner too,” Ford stammered.   
He wasn’t sure what her reaction would be, and his heart pounded as he snaked an arm around Fiddleford’s shoulders in a friendly gesture. Ms. Pines’ face practically lit up, and she clasped her hands together as she smiled with a few tears in her eyes.   
“Oh, Stanford! I’m so happy you found someone who makes you happy. You’ve been good to him, haven’t you, Fiddleford?”   
“Uh, yes, of course! I love him after all,” Fiddleford nodded and moved to kiss Ford on the cheek.   
Both of them tensed up when she started to sniffle, though the smile on her face didn’t fade. “I’m so glad to see you so happy, my Stanford. You used to never smile, and now you have a lover whom I definitely approve of. If he makes you happy, then I’m happy.”   
“Mom? Who’s there with you?” a young boy’s voice echoed from the end of the hall.   
A boy of around ten years old walked over to them. He had soft, brown hair like Ford and Stan, though with a few lighter highlights. Ford looked down at him, trying to remember. Ms. Pines grinned and took the boy’s hand, kneeling down to his level.   
“Shermie, this is your big brother Stanford. You were just a baby when he left for college, and now he’s back,” she told him in a cheerful voice.   
Ford stared intently at him before clearing his throat and kneeling down as well.   
“Greetings, Shermie. Sorry I’ve been gone for so long. You’ve really grown,” he said as he held out a hand and shook Shermie’s hand, which was much smaller than his own.   
“Woah, you have six fingers,” Shermie noted, looking at the hand curiously.   
“Stanford was born with an extra finger, Shermie. He’s quite special,” she told him. “Now, you should get back to bed. It’s getting late.”   
“But I couldn’t sleep, and I heard other voices so I got up,” Shermie whined as she and Ford stood back up.   
“Hmm, well, Stanford and I have some catching up to do. Why don’t you show Fiddleford around the house and answer any questions he has since he is a federal agent,” she instructed.   
Shermie seemed satisfied with this. He nodded and started to walk towards the living room, gesturing for Fiddleford to follow him.   
“Sorry, but could you entertain him for a bit while I talk with my mom?” Ford asked.   
“Oh, of course, Stanford. Take your time, but don’t forget to find out what you can about the case too. Maybe ask her about mothman’s riddle. Maybe she can help us figure it out,” Fiddleford told him before following after Shermie. 

Ford nodded and followed her into the small dining room. She offered coffee which Ford accepted.   
“So, first things first, what happened to dad? Did things get worse after I left?”   
“I left that monster a few months after you left for college. In a way, I knew you wouldn’t be back. With Stanley gone and the abuse getting worse, I don’t blame you for never coming back. It was for the best. As for where he is now, I couldn’t tell you. I moved to another part of town with Shermie. For the first few weeks, I was fearful that he would come after me. I always kept the doors locked and was always looking out the windows. Once the first month passed, I began to relax more, and I haven’t seen him or heard from him since. Good riddance. I want to raise Shermie in a nice, loving environment. I’m just..I’m just so sorry you and Stanley had to grow up basically in fear. I-I tried to protect you both the best I could but...but he still hurt you. I...I know I could’ve done better to protect you two,” she began to sob, holding a hand over her mouth. Tears smeared the makeup she wore.   
Ford was immediately by her side, trying his best to comfort her by rubbing her back and squeezing her shoulder gently.   
“I can’t thank you enough for all you did for Stanley and me. You’re the one who bought me that turtleneck to cover up the bruises on bad days when I still had to go to school. You applied concealer on bruises the clothing couldn’t cover up. You comforted us at night and brought us hot chocolate and told us funny stories. You did all you could, and I can never thank you enough. Please don’t blame yourself for what he did to us. I’m just glad he didn’t do that to you,” Ford said in a quiet, calm voice, though he was on the verge of tears himself. “And now, thanks to your bravery, Shermie doesn’t have to go through that.”   
They hugged each other and stayed hugging for a while. Once they parted, she looked up at Ford and cupped his cheek.   
“My Stanford..you’ve grown so handsome. I can hardly believe how much you’ve grown, and now you’re a handsome man,” she patted his cheek and smiled up at him.   
“Well, it’s a good thing Stan and I looke more like you than dad,” Ford chuckled.   
“Stanely...I wish I had stopped Filbrick from kicking him out. Have you met him since that incident?”   
“I have actually. A case that Fiddleford and I were assigned to led us to Gravity Falls. He had a house there, and I met him. He’s doing pretty well, and I think he’d love to hear from you.”   
Ford took out his memo pad and wrote down Stan’s number on it before handing it to her. “This is his number. When you’re ready, you should give him a call.”   
She held the slip of paper like it was made out of pure gold. It shook in her hand as she clutched it. Ford also handed her his card with his number on it.   
“So we can keep in touch, of course,” Ford added.   
“Now, we can do all the catching up we need to later, I’m afraid. I am still on a case. So, my partner and I have been investigating some strange occurrences that have been happening in this town. People have reported hearing strange voices and having strange dreams. All report seeing a moth like creature with glowing red eyes. Each tells the same riddle which they say this creature, known as mothman, has told them. This riddle is ‘the mighty will fall, and the terror will follow.’ Do you have any idea what it could mean? We believe it’s a warning of sorts of some kind of tragedy that’s going to happen, but it’s such a cryptic message. I’m not sure what it means,” Ford explained. He pulled out a few documents on the incidents.   
Ms. Pines sat back in the chair. She was deep in thought, taking in the words Ford had said. “The mighty will fall, and the terror will follow..” she repeated it, taking in each and every word as if trying to digest the meaning behind them.   
“It’s okay if you don’t know. We’re just trying to ask anyone we can-”   
“Wait! I think I know..maybe. There’s a power plant near the town that supplies the electricity here. It’s called Mighty Electric. It’s a huge plant that’s just on the city limit. You can’t miss it. That could be what that thing is talking about. It’s all I can think of. I’m not sure about the terror part,” she explained. She pulled out a map and indicated the location of the plant.   
“Electricity?” Ford gulped, feeling a sense of dread wash over him as he saw the lights in the kitchen flickering. “W-we need to check the local news..quick!”   
Ford practically sprang up and ran over to the living room, earning surprised looks from Fiddleford and Shermie.   
“Excuse me,” Ford muttered as he pushed Fiddleford a bit to grab the remote.   
“Stanford, what in the??”   
Ford shushed him as he turned on the TV. The local news popped up as the screen lit up. Ford’s stomach dropped as he read the main headline: “Highly dangerous electrical surge iminate as the plant is evacuated. Town evacuation may ensue shortly.”   
The head foreman of the plant was being interviewed, saying that the machinery and controls had mysteriously went out of control. The amount of electricity is slowly increasing, and they can do nothing to stop it.   
“Fidds!” Ford suddenly shouted, grabbing the other agent by his collar. “This is what mothman was trying to warn us of. A great tragedy is about to happen if we can’t stop the electricity and destruction of the plant.”   
“W-well, it’s a good thing I’m an engineer and mechanic. If we’re gonna stop this, we should go now,” he nodded, though his voice was shaking with his nerves.   
Ms. Pines held Shermie close to her protectively. “Do you two think you can stop this. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but by the sound of it, it’s nothing good.”   
“I’m sure we can stop it. We have to,” Ford nodded. He began to pull Fiddleford with him by the hand over towards the door.   
“Stanford,” she called before they were out the door. “Please, be careful. I want to be able to see you again.”   
“I will. You know I always will,” Ford assured before running into the night with Fiddleford in tow. 

The two ran as fast as they could over to where the gigantic electrical plant was. It loomed in the distance like a colossus awaiting them. Due to the full moon, the night sky lit up a dark green and indigo. The stars dotted the sky like white dots created by a marker on dark paper. A crowd had already gathered around it, including multiple news stations. Ford could feel his senses beginning to heighten as they pushed through the crowd towards the entrance doors. Every hair on him was springing up in alarm as the air seemed to become heavier, similar to the feeling he always got before a huge storm, even the air around them seemed to be charged with an electric current. He noticed Fiddleford looking up as they walked, so Ford did the same. His eyes locked on a figure looking down at them from the top of the building. It had the same glowing red eyes from their dreams. They couldn’t see anything else besides its silhouette and the gigantic moth wings that jutted out from either side as if he was beckoning them. Ford could’ve sworn he saw it smiling until it suddenly disappeared like a flash of lightning.   
“He’s giving us one last warning. This is our last chance,” Fiddleford whispered, almost too calmly.   
Ford had nearly no time to react as Fiddleford bolted for the doors and ran inside. A few of the police had tried to stop him, but the agent was too fast. Ford stood there for a few seconds, taking in what just happened before he forced his legs to move. He flashed his badge to the local authorities and ran after Fiddleford. As he sprinted through the doors, he felt as if he was entering the jaws of some gigantic beast, one filled with unseeable dangers. The safety of his partner was the only thing compelling him inside as he followed Fiddleford into the malfunctioning electrical plant.


	15. The Faith of a Believer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, finally updated this fic ^^  
> I've been having some major writer's block issues, but hopefully I'm out of it. Enjoy the new chapter! 
> 
> _Brooke

Fiddleford followed after Ford into the towering factory. He squinted up at the tallest smokestack and could’ve sworn he saw a pair of red eyes glinting down at him.  
   “Hey, Stanford! Wait up! We should stick together,” he shouted after him but found himself alone in the dimly lit interior.  
   “Great..this is probably what he wants,” he sighed.  
   “Pines!” he yelled, only getting echoes of his voice back as if Ford had completely disappeared.  
Feeling panicked, Fiddleford began to desperately sprint down the winding hallways. After a few minutes, he could’ve sworn he had gone past the same office about ten times already. He abruptly stopped after the twelfth time, hands on his knees and breathing hard. His lungs burned with each breath and his abdomen felt like it was being bit at.  
   “What do you want? Why do you have me stuck in a loop?” he huffed. “Quit keepin’ me from Stanford you damn moth.”  
A sudden red light made Fiddleford glance over at a new doorway leading into the main part of the plant. Electricity flashed, creating a strobe effect. He was about to run in when the tall, shadowy figure blocked his way.  
   “Oh, finally decided to show yourself?” Fiddleford took a few steps forward.  
   “This is only the first of many disasters to come, and your biggest test is close at hand. You will have to learn to work without Pines to prepare for this future,” the voice crackled like the electricity behind him.  
   “Wh-what does that mean?”  
   “The cipher is coming. Soon, he will tear into this plane of existence. I am merely an observer who warns. You will know when you come upon the Cipher X file.”  
Fiddleford’s words were lost to the wind as it disappeared, leaving the path clear once again.  
   “Hey, McGucket, is that you? Over here!” Ford waved at him from the other side of the huge room.  
Fiddleford stumbled as he ran over to Ford. He felt like his whole head was ringing from the encounter. It sounded like there was a faint static in the background, like a constant white noise.  
   “Hey, did ya find something?” he asked, clearing his throat and trying to break out of the strange daze.  
   “Yeah! I think I found an emergency shutdown switch,” he motioned for Fiddleford to join him.  
He gulped as the room was practically lit up by the rampant electricity pulsating around the nodes and wires.  
   “And we need to hurry. This place is about to overload and kill a lot of people.”  
Fiddleford ran over to his side and lightly pushed him away.  
   “Sorry, I’m a mechanic and studied engineering in college. I’m familiar with this stuff,” he said as he looked over the switch.  
He spotted a pair of rubber gloves nearby and slipped those on.  
   “Just in case,” he muttered before gripping onto the handle.  
He looked over at Ford one more time before taking a deep breath in preparation.  
   “Well, here goes.”  
Fiddleford used all of his strength to pull the handle down. A piercing siren split through the air as yellow lights flashed and illuminated the gigantic room. The two agents held onto each other and waited for the inevitable. After about a minute, Fiddleford slowly opened his eyes. The rampant electrical charges had stopped. The flashing yellow lights were the only thing lighting up their surroundings.  
   “Fidds,” he heard Ford right by him. “You did it!” he cheered and hugged him close.  
   “Heh, I guess I did,” Fiddleford chuckled and held onto Ford. “I was so scared that we were gonna die, but we did it! I’m guessin’ that means mothman is gone. There’s nothin’ more for him to warn us about.”  
   “Yeah, he’s probably elsewhere,” Ford nodded. “Well, the only thing left is he report, but you can usually type those bad boys up in one night, and it shouldn’t be too hard since there’s a lot to say.”  
Fiddleford nodded and kissed him right on the lips, slowly and sweetly. Even after it, their lips lingered together before slowly pulling apart.  
   “And I’ve been neglectin’ you darlin’. I’ll type the report up fast, so we can finally do something in the bed,” he said with a wink.  
He separated himself from Ford and dusted his suit off.  
   “Come on, we should get out of here before they think we died,” Fiddleford offered him a hand.  
Ford happily took it, and the two walked out of the now darkened plant. Cheers from a small crowd outside greeted them. Many of the townsfolk had gathered and were ecstatic to see the agents alive and well. Among the people, Ms. Pines and Shermie stood there, waving at the two.

   “Ah, I’m so proud of both of you! You saved the town!” she beamed as she brought both of them into a tight hug.  
   “Heh, thanks, mom, but it was mostly thanks to McGucket. He knew exactly what to do. I kinda just stood there and watched,” he chuckled, squeezing Fiddleford’s shoulder.

Fiddleford noted the night sky as they walked back to the motel. It had odd hints of varying shades of purple from deep to light. He squinted as he could’ve sworn he saw lights moving in an odd pattern. THey moved in perfect circles along a path through the sky. Fiddleford shook his head as he focused his eyes on the path ahead of them.  
   “I can’t believe all this happened tonight,” he muttered.  
He found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get those piercing red eyes out of his head.  
   “It’s rather simple for me,” Ford replied. “I saw it, so I believe it.”  
   “And what about your UFO’s?”  
   “I want to believe. There’s too much evidence to at least not even want to.”  
Fiddleford sighed and kept his mouth shut, knowing where arguing with Ford about it would go.  
   “Do you want to believe?” he asked, breaking the silence.  
   “Me? I don’t know what to believe after tonight. I’m just gonna go with my instinct as I always have.”  
Ford shrugged, “Fair enough.”

Fiddleford instantly turned on his laptop once they were in the room. He already knew what he was going to write about and started typing away. Ford watched him in amusement for a while before shedding his clothes off so he was just in his briefs and undershirt. He sighed in contentment at the warmth underneath the bed sheets and comforter.

It was after the typing had ceased that he looked up to see Fiddleford standing over him, ever so slowly slipping off his tie.  
   “It’s been a little while, hasn’t it?” he whispered, seductively licking his lips.  
   “Uh, yeah, a bit too long,” Ford purred.  
He whipped the covers off himself as he watched Fiddleford undress.  
   “We saved the town, so I think we deserve a reward, and I want to try something a bit different,” he grinned as he held his tie in his hands like a rope.  
Ford shot him a curious look and sprawled out more.  
   “Let’s see what you have in mind.”  
   “Take off the shirt,” he ordered, though it was still in his soft, sweet tone.  
Ford obliged and pulled off the tank top as quickly as he could, eagerly tossing it to the side. Before he knew it, Fiddleford’s lips were on his, kissing him hard and pushing him onto the bed. While they made out, Fiddleford grabbed the other man’s wrists. As he pulled him back into a sitting position, he promptly turned him around, locking his wrists together behind his back and tying them together with his tie.  
   “Thought we could try this. What do you think?” he whispered by his ear.  
   “I really like it so far. Can’t wait to see what’s next,” he whispered back.  
Fiddleford turned him around to face him again, crashing their lips back together, leading with his tongue. Their tongues mingled together as their mouths melded and pushed against one another. Fiddleford’s hands were all over Ford, brushing through his soft hair, then cascading down his neck and tracing his collarbone. Ford’s wrists wiggled against the tight tie around his wrists, instinct wanting to touch Fiddleford back. The feeling was coursing through his veins, making Fiddleford easily take notice.  
   “What’s the matter? You wanna touch me?” he teased and pushed Ford with a light shove, sending him on his back.  
A foot soon planted itself directly on his crotch, rubbing it through his briefs, eliciting a low moan from Ford.  
   “Hope you’re reading, baby,” he purred.


End file.
